NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Sustainable Technologies: 

Finding Success the Second 

Time Around 

Kevin Walkowicz

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Green Truck Summit

Indianapolis, Indiana

March 3, 2016

NREL/PR-5400-65999
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Lessons Learned: Applying Knowledge in Next Generation

Buy it. Then try it.

Evaluations of newly deployed 

technology are useful if you use 

the lessons learned

Optimize it. 

Good data, tools, and techniques for 

development of next generation, 

optimized systems

Photo credit NREL
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Optimal Deployment 2nd Time Around

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Re-establish your goals/objectives:

• GHG Reduction

• Criteria Pollutants (i.e., NOx)

• Petroleum Use Reduction

• Alt Fuel Credits

• Total Operational Cost Savings

• Low Carbon Fuel Use

• Electrification Incentives

• Idle Reduction, etc.?

Sometimes:

Success might mean negative consequences in non-objectives

Re-assess and adjust
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Field Data & Analysis Tools: Process for Improving the Deployment

Collect Lab 

and Field Data

Capture, Store 

and Analyze

Explore & 

Optimize

Next Gen 

Deployment

Identify 

Barriers, New 

R&D 

Opportunities, 

Validate 

Efforts

Partnership between Fleets and Technology Providers = Relevant Analysis, Results &

Optimized Solutions for Real World Applications

Field data help 

build operational 

knowledge

Fleet tools (DRIVE, FASTSim,

AFleet, etc.) used to analyze, 

investigate, and optimize impacts

Optimized system 

deployment: Vehicles, 

Facilities and Operations 

Innovation for Our Energy Future
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Fleet Evaluations Provide Lessons for Next Iteration

Background:

Medium-duty (MD) and heavy-duty (HD) testing,

aggregated data, and detailed analysis have resulted 

in:

• 3rd party unbiased data: Provides data that would not 

normally be shared by industry in an aggregated and 

detailed manner

• Over 6 million miles of advanced technology MD and HD 

truck data have been collected, documented, and analyzed

on over 300 different vehicles since 2002

• Guiding R&D for new technology development and 

identifying new opportunities for next generation 

deployments – where are the areas for improvement?

NREL 19908

NREL 18337

NREL 19816

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2nd Time Around Examples from NREL’s Field Testing 

• Vehicle Placement – Optimizing vehicle vs. route

• Tuning – Understanding duty cycle and fine tuning

• New Features – Adding new features to optimize

• Integrated Operations –Vehicle demands vs. facility

• Battery State of Charge (SOC) Control – Understanding duty 

cycle vs. battery use
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Improvement: Vehicle Placement

UPS Hybrid Electric Package Delivery Placement

• UPS has deployed hybrid electric 

vehicle (HEV) delivery vans in 

multiple locations around the 

United States and has learned to 

maximize success in its fleet by 

optimizing location / usage

• In its “2nd Gen” deployment, UPS 

placed HEVs in more “urban” drive 

cycles (higher “kinetically intense” 

routes) and maximized HEV 

advantage. NREL documented this 

improvement in a study in 2012 

with its Minneapolis, MN fleet

• Optimized placement resulted in 

higher gal/day/vehicle savings over 

other route options

CR1 = routes where non-hybrids were placed

CR2 = routes where hybrids were placed

NREL study showed the “switch” between the two 

groups, which maximized hybrid advantage (20% 

vs. 13%) if HEVs were placed in CR1 routes

Full Report: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/55658.pdf

NREL Photo 19821
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Improvement: Tuning 

• City of Indianapolis deployed 50 side-loader refuse 

trucks and roll-off recycling trucks 

• Used drive cycle analysis techniques to investigate new 

powertrain options and determined that new 

transmission calibrations could drastically improve fuel 

economy while maintaining operational performance

• 11 % fuel economy improvement for roll-off recycler 

trucks by applying an improved calibration and a 

reduced road speed limit change

• 5.6 % side-loader fuel economy improvement by 

applying a new calibration including “Dynamic Shift

Sensing” and “Neutral at Stop”

• 50 truck improvement = $250k / yr

City of Indianapolis Transmission Tuning

KI = kinetic intensity
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Improvement: Same Hardware, New Features 

Odyne’s Next Generation Energy Management System

• Odyne has delivered over 150 plug-in 

(charge depleting) hybrid electric systems 

for work trucks – some as part of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 

(ARRA)

• Customer use has been observed and 

measured and used to develop new control 

features

• The plug-in HEV system is capable of 

propelling the vehicle to and from the jobsite or providing job-site electrification of 

PTO loads (or both)

• How to optimize where the energy is used 

is being explored – i.e., where and when to 

use the stored energy. Battery size vs. 

driving calibration vs. duty cycle

Two calibrations have been developed 

(Mild and Aggressive) to optimize route 

vs. job-site battery use
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Improvement: Integrated Operations

EVs and Facility Management: Intelligent Charge Control

• Frito-Lay has deployed fully electric delivery 

trucks to its facilities.

• Demand charges can be as high as 30%–50% of 

a facility’s utility cost (based on highest 15 mins) 

depending on location and rate structure

• EV charging strategies have been identified as a 

possible way to minimize facility cost and 

maximize vehicle utilization

• Understanding charging patterns of vehicles and 

energy demands of a facility can lead to an 

optimized charge strategy for a fleet of EVs

A strategy to manage EV charging could 

reduce facility demand charges by 20%
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Improvement: Battery SOC Control

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• Foothill Transit in California has 

installed a DC fast charger to charge 

a fully electric transit bus while on 

route, minimizing battery size and 

reducing bus cost

• Battery SOC (along with other 

factors) has an effect on battery life

• Changes can be made to enable bus 

operation while maximizing battery 

life

• 75.4% of the time it is between 60%–

90% SOC

• Opportunities for charge strategy 

change to prolong life of battery? 

Foothill Transit EV Optimization

NREL Image 35803
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In Process: Foothill EV Bus Project

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Using power and HVAC analysis to look for next gen improvements?

Auxiliary load analysis: Power impacts 

of HVAC, can system be improved?

Controls Calibration: 

Understanding at what 

vehicle speed the power is 

being used; shows charge, 

regen and depletion 

characteristics, could 

possibly “tune” for better 

efficiency
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Special Thanks To:

• The U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies 

Office & the Vehicle Systems Program

• United Parcel Service

• Foothill Transit

• City of Indianapolis

• Odyne Systems, LLC

• Frito-Lay North America

Questions?

Kevin.walkowicz@nrel.gov

NREL #21806