India: Major order for electric truck startup Tresa Motors

Tresa Motors’ electric trucks are equipped with 300-kWh batteries that the company claims can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent SoC in 15 minutes. The batteries are based on a self-developed battery module called “Meg50,” which has an energy content of 50 kWh. The Meg50 operates at 800 volts and has immersion liquid cooling. Since the company states that an 18-tonne truck will be fitted with six modules and a 55-tonne truck with up to 14 modules, JFK Transporters presumably opted for the 18-tonne truck.

According to Tresa Motors, the battery module will be able to “in extreme environments found arid Kutch to the frigid Ladakh.” It is thus designed to work reliably near the Himalayas and in the hotter states of India. This is supported by the immersion cooling system, which also increases safety.

According to Indian media reports, the vehicles will be based on an “Axial Flux 350 engine platform.” If these were indeed axial flux motors, the electric trucks would be very innovative. Axial flux motors offer a higher energy density than electric motors with a radial magnetic field that have been widely used. But it is also more expensive to produce. That is why they can be found in hybrid sports cars like Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG, but not yet in heavy-duty trucks. At least not in Europe. Tresa’s in-house development, called RJ1, weighs just 20 kilograms and is integrated into the EV axle, but the company has not provided any performance data.

The financial scope of the major order has not been disclosed. “We have worked for many years to get to the stage we are at now, with Tresa, and yet this is just the beginning,” says founder and CEO Rohan Shravan. “We are delighted that leading logistics companies like JFK Transporters are coming forward and reposing their faith in us.”

“JFK Transporters has always been at the forefront of embracing sustainable practices,” says Adil Kotwal, Managing Director at JFK Transporters. “By incorporating Tresa Motors’ advanced electric truck into our fleet, we are taking a significant step towards achieving our goal of reducing our carbon footprint while maintaining the highest standards of operational efficiency and safety.”

financialexpress.com, indiatimes.com, twitter.com, tresamotors.com (info on the Meg50 battery module)