Balqon, who has an electric Class 8 local delivery truck platform, is now offering the same basic platform as a yard goat and drayage rig.  The new yard jockey platform is based on an Xspotter from Autocar Truck and is built for Class 7 and 8 applications in-port or at the warehouse.  Balqon is calling it the Nautilus.

The Nautilus XE20 is designed and built for off-highway container or trailer spotting applications, of course, and is quipped with Balqon’s traction drive and battery management system.  Similar to the Nautilus that has been undergoing live-use testing in the ports of Southern California, this production model is designed for speeds up to 25mph and can pull loads up to 40 tons.

The guts of the machine are a 230V AC induction motor coupled with an Allison 4spd transmission.  It’s 240kW liquid-cooled drive provides the highest low-end torque available, outstripping diesel and CNG models of equivalent size by nearly half.

The Nautilus has a range of over 94 miles per charge or 50 miles fully loaded.  Since it doesn’t “idle” as a traditional ICE staging rig would, those are actual travel miles and are more than the average driven by most hostlers on an 8 hour shift.  The 324V, 140kWh lithium-ion battery pack is charged by a standard 20kW charger or can be charged from a multi-vehicle 80kW charger.  Charging takes about 7 hours, but the batteries can be brought to 80% in less than 3 hours.

The XE20 has undergone field demonstrations on the dock, as mentioned, as well as at the warehouse of a beverage distribution hub and an industrial manufacturing facility.  During those tests, the spotter showed lower energy consumption and better performance than traditionally-powered diesel vehicles operated in the same environments.

The Nautilus XE20 is now available for sale in California and will be nationally available before the summer, with North American sales available through AutoCar dealerships.

Related posts:

1. Balqon Enters EU Yard Tractor Market With MOL