TIP is trialling an electric regen axle system – developed jointly by Thermo King Europe and BPW – with a refrigerated semi-trailer in Britain.

The ‘E-CoolPac’ integrates power electronics, controls, and battery modules in a single box, storing between 15 and 35 kWh of energy depending on the specification.

The jury praised the concept of the truck, which was first unveiled at the last IAA Transportation event in 2022: originally called ‘eActros Long Haul’, the idea was to develop a truck capable of covering up to 500 kilometres on a single charge.

The latest update to the TracKing platform is the result of a collaboration with ZF Group which was first announced last year.

With Thermo King’s expertise in electrifying transport refrigeration, the partners aim to achieve reduced fuel consumption in diesel truck-trailers and increased range in electric combinations.

The ‘E-500e’ is powered directly by the vehicle battery and does not require additional investment in a dedicated battery or shore connection module.

Idem customers using its fleet management platform now have access to data collected from Thermo King products, including its refrigeration units and its ‘AxlePower’ energy recovery and storage system.

Users of Thermo King's 'TracKing' will be able to access electronic braking system, odometer, axle-load, and tyre pressure data alongside information pulled from the transport refrigeration unit.

The ‘Athenia Envi’ heat pump is a HVAC unit which uses R-744 (i.e., CO2) - with a global warming potential of 1 - as a refrigerant.

Through a dedicated mobile application, the driver can access data from the wLog via Bluetooth at any time and can set it to log data from every two minutes to every hour.

Refrigerated Trailer Rentals Holland BV of Barendrecht fitted the engineless ‘Advancer-e’ to a trailer which it has now leased to Dailycool, a transporter of groceries.

Thermo King is partnering with refrigerated vehicle leasing firm Petit Forestier and the Institut Français de Formation en Énergétique (IFFEN) to offer a work-study training programme for budding young transport refrigeration technicians in France.