The Aeos, named for a mythological Greek flying horse, has a 100-mile range, with its battery pack rechargeable within that duty cycle. With a “range extender” engine and generator under the sloped hood, its range would be 300 miles. A Cummins B6.7 diesel or a similarly sized gasoline engine could be used, Furber said.
Aeos has a single electric motor rated at 300 continuous and 470 peak horsepower; torque is 1,365 continuous and 2,500 peak lb-ft. Output runs through a conventional driveshaft and drive axle to the two rear wheels; there’s no transmission, according to a data sheet.
A 140-kilowatt-hour battery pack can be recharged in one hour at a special plug-in station, and Cummins engineers expect that to be cut to 20 minutes in about three years. The battery pack is in a box behind the cab.
Cummins purchased the motor, battery cells, sensors, connectors and other parts and integrated them with its own electronic controls, Furber said. The cab and chassis are from Navistar International, and Roush Performance assembled the vehicle.
The Aeos tractor’s maximum gross combination weight is 75,000 pounds, or 18,000 gross vehicle weight for the tractor alone. Tandem rear axles would increase those ratings. The components would be rugged enough for construction applications, Furber said.
Cummins executives believe electrified powertrains are in trucking's near future, which in this case is only two years away. Though they didn’t outline plans for the product, it’s likely that Cummins would sell the powertrain to truck builders.
