44 March/April 2024 | E-Mobility Engineering Peter Donaldson discovers how conversion packs are putting electric powertrains inside diesel vans Reborn electric One of the greatest benefits of electrified light vehicles is the elimination of tailpipe emissions and the consequent improvements in air quality in urban areas. Large vans form a key part of the ‘last mile’ logistics that keep cities running. However, Osman Boyner, founder and CEO of BEDEO, argues that today’s electric vans do not meet the needs of the market, while even diesel vans that do meet the latest Euro VI legislation still produce significant emissions. BEDEO group company Protean Electric’s in-wheel motor technology enables a conversion package that adds an electric powertrain to existing diesel vans, as well as an option to convert to full electric. Dubbed the Reborn Electric RE-100, the package is designed for vans in the EU/UK N1 and N2 categories, which cover vehicles up to 3.5 t and 4.5 t, respectively. “Commercial fleet operators face a number of challenges, not least the uncertainty of a moving government deadline for an all-electric future,” he says. “While switching to an all-electric fleet is desirable, it is also very expensive and wasteful, requiring investment not only in the vehicles themselves but also in the infrastructure to support them.” Life extension Boyner points out that the whole lifecycle of a vehicle must be taken into account when judging the overall sustainability of the transport system, making conversions more attractive. “It cannot be sustainable to replace a vehicle that has not reached the end of its useful working life; neither is it sustainable to replace not only the vehicle but also the bespoke equipment fits that many of these vehicles have,” he says. When planning the RE-100’s development, Protean researched how much fleet owners spend on equipping their vehicles, coming up with an average of £10,000 per van, according to CTO Stephen Lambert. “That takes costly installations such as refrigeration into account, all the way down to racking for tools, etc. If you are running a standard panel van, the system may not work out to be costeffective for you, but it fits those fleets that have more bespoke vehicles and ‘backs’ so you can extend their lives.” In the UK alone, the number of commercial vehicles on the road is nearly five million, of which 55,000 were battery electric at the end of 2023, The Citroen Jumper is one of the vans for which the RE-100 conversion is available today, the others being the Fiat Ducato, Opel Movano and Peugeot Boxer (Image courtesy of BEDEO)
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