Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 56 No. 4 (December 2019)
1TE Series Small Electrically-driven Refrigeration Unitswith Generator for Delivery Trucks
D i s t r i b u t o r ( J a pa n )Ryojyu Coldchain Co. Corporate
Distributor (In the European region)
M i ts u b i s h i H e a v y I n d u s t r i e s T h e r m a l
Tr a n s p o r t E u r o p e G m b H

The rise of E-commerce industry and home delivery services have rapidly increased theamount of cargo handled by logistic industry worldwide. This development poses both a social aswell as environmental challenge to reduce the burden on truck drivers as well impact onenvironment. In particular, for delivery trucks that require refrigerated transportation, there isgrowing demand for improved temperature maintenance, operability and lower running costs
through the adoption of electric refrigeration units.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd, has developed all-electric ‘TE series’
refrigeration unit compatible with diesel trucks, which make up the majority of transportation
vehicles to meet the aforementioned market demand with a dedicated alternator and battery. This
report introduces the developed refrigeration unit TE series.

|1. Product overview
The TE Series with dedicated alternator and battery has ability to deliver constantperformance independent of truck speed and maintain temperature even during vehicle stops fordelivery without truck engine power. Additionally, unit can automatically switch the operation
mode between truck engine, battery and commercial power without stopping thereby improving theoperability and reducing the driver`s burden considerably.

|2. Product advantages
2.1(1)Reduction of driver's burdenContinuous operation function due to automatic switching of power supply to refrigeration
unit (hereinafter seamless operation function)
A generator and battery dedicated to the refrigeration unit is incorporated into thevehicle. The battery power is boosted by our proprietary converter and the refrigeration unit isoperated at a controlled compressor speed using an inverter.
As shown in Figure 1, during vehicle running and precooling operation, the refrigeration
unit is operated and the battery is charged by the generator power during vehicle stops fordelivery and idle stops, the refrigeration unit operation is automatically switched to battery
power. Thereby, it is possible to continuously operate the refrigeration unit without stoppingfrom start to the end of delivery operation and maintain the refrigerated cargo room
temperature constant with high accuracy.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review 56 No. 4 (December 2019)
2Figure 1 Automatic power switching system realizes seamless operation ofrefrigeration unit

For the seamless operation function, a charge/discharge monitoring sensor is installed on
the battery dedicated to the refrigeration unit. By controlling the cooling capacity and power
consumption with an inverter as shown in Figure 2 according to the battery charge level andthe operating condition, autonomously optimized refrigeration unit control for all-day delivery
is realized.
This autonomous control solves the problem of the temperature rising during vehicle
stops which is an issue for drivers and hence, can reduce the driver's burden.

Figure 2

Power control and compressor speed control(2) Visibility and operability improvement
The temperature in the refrigerated cargo room and the remaining battery level arealways displayed on the controller LCD so that they can be seen at a glance (Figure 3). The
driver can easily check the refrigeration unit operating condition and the temperature of thecargo.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review 56 No. 4 (December 2019)3

Figure 3 Easy-to-see display of temperature in refrigerated cargo roomand remaining battery level

2.2

Reduce environmental impact and improvement of economy(1)

Improvement of energy saving performance
Due to the generator dedicated to the refrigeration unit, the battery is charged during
vehicle running when the engine efficiency is good, and the refrigeration unit operation during
vehicle stops is powered by the battery, so that the stored energy of the vehicle engine can beused more efficiently. In addition, as shown in Figure 2, when maintaining the temperature of
the refrigerated cargo room, the refrigeration unit is operated at a high-efficiency operating
point using an inverter, thereby further improving the energy saving performance.
(2) Improved total cost of ownership
Conventional electrically-driven refrigeration unit systems mainly use high-cost batteries
such as lithium ion batteries and high-efficiency permanent magnet generators. In contrast, due
to the adoption of the high-efficiency converter technology with a high conversion voltage
ratio, the charge/discharge monitoring that greatly extends the battery life and the inverter
control, this product realizes a refrigeration unit that combines a low-cost and general-purpose
lead-acid battery and an alternator for commercial vehicles, improving both the initial cost as
well as running cost of refrigeration unit.

|3. Specifications and configuration
The TE30GA is a refrigeration system that control the temperature of one refrigerated cargoroom with one evaporator unit.
On the other hand, the TE20AM is a system that can operate two cargo rooms in different
temperatures such as chilled and frozen with two evaporator units.
Figure 4 shows the system configuration of the TE30GA. Table 1 lists the specifications ofthe TE30GA and TE20AM.

Figure 4

Refrigeration unit and system configuration of TE30GA

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review 56 No. 4 (December 2019)4Table 1 Specifications of TE30GA and TE20AM
Model type
Cargo room
Operatingtemperaturetemperature
Ambient
range
temperature

TE30GA

TE20AM°C-20 to +30-20 to +30°C-20 to +40-20 to +40

Evaporator forcompartment AW

3000W*1(Ambient temperature
30°C /Cargo room
temperature 0°C)

Evaporator forcompartment B

W―kgmmR410A, 1.3kg
1585×580×725

2400W*1, 2(Ambienttemperature 35°C
/Cargo room
temperature 0°C)
1650W*1, 2(Ambienttemperature 35°C
/Cargo room
temperature 0°C)
R410A, 1.3kg
1585×580×725

mm

960×620×151

882×300×390

mm―

882×300×390

Kg

8888Kg2010.8Kg―

7.9Cooling
capacity

Refrigerant
Condensing unit
Evaporator for
External*4 compartment A
dimensions
Evaporator forcompartment B
Condensing unit
Evaporator for
Weight*4
compartment AEvaporator forcompartment B

Remark*1 At maximum
capacity
operation withinvertercontrol*2 Evaporator forfreezing,
in-house testvalue
*3 Evaporator forcooling,in-house testvalue
*4 Excluding
battery andgenerator|4. Future development
We will continue to improve the performance of electrically-driven refrigeration units fordelivery trucks and expand the product line for various types of vehicles, in order to contribute to
the improvement of people's lives by reducing the environmental impact in the cold chain, relieving
driver burden, and improving transportation quality.