Gray & Adams is delighted to be showcasing its quality and commitment to sustainable innovation with the Vector eCool at this year’s Temperature Controlled Storage and Distribution (TCS&D) Show in Peterborough. With sustainability and greener solutions as a strong focus across the whole automotive sector, this innovation offers a new, exciting, carbon-busting solution to an industry-wide problem.
The carbon-busting Vector eCool trailer on stand E30 at this year’s TCS&D Show has a range of impressive features and technology. Through close collaboration and a special partnership with Carrier Transicold, the businesses worked together to collectively bring the first ever fully electric trailer to UK roads in 2021. The product has already been a big success story for the close partnership between Carrier Transicold and Gray & Adams, with many businesses across the UK having already trialed and tested the vehicle throughout the year as part of a robust trailer demonstrator programme.
Built into a dual temperature, twin member trailer with a tail lift, the Vector eCool utilises a new energy recovery and storage system which converts kinetic energy generated by the trailer axle and brakes into electricity, which is then stored in a battery pack that powers the refrigeration unit. This loop creates a fully autonomous systems which produces no direct carbon dioxide and doesn’t require any modification to the tractor unit or the fitting of expensive eco-drives and PTO’s.
Suitable for operation with the engineless versions of the Carrier Transicold Vector HE 19 and Vector 1550 E, the Vector eCool is one of the most exciting new products ever brought to market. The tri-axle trailer features aerodynamic cappings to reduce drag, while bespoke sideguards allow access to the battery system and offers protection to cyclists and other vulnerable road users. Even with the axle generator and battery pack, it is lighter than a standard diesel unit with a full tank of fuel.
Carrier Transicold has been working in close partnership with Gray & Adams on the design of the Vector eCool trailer to maximise the environmental benefits of the system. Where traditional belt-driven systems suffer a loss of up to 40% kilowatts cooling power when converting electrical energy into their required mechanical drive, the Carrier E-Drive ensures the eCool has consistent, efficient cooling power and pull-down speeds whether operating on battery power or when plugged into the mains grid. The system has been designed to help customers improve fleet sustainability and futureproof their operations – particularly when considering the tightening restrictions and regulations relating to Low Emission Zones and urban operations.
“We have a special relationship with Carrier; working so closely with them to bring the Vector eCool to the UK has been really exciting,”
said Peter Gray, Joint Managing Director, Gray & Adams. He went on, “Our design teams have seamlessly integrated the axle, braking and battery systems that make up the eCool into a trailer that has the potential to completely change the face of refrigerated transport and will help the industry to move forward into a more sustainable future.”
The TCS&D Show will attract between 1500-2000 visitors, from across the UK and mainland Europe, who are buyers and/or specifiers in the frozen and chilled foods and pharmaceutical sectors and who are actively seeking new innovations and technology solutions in the perishable product supply chain.
In addition, the annual TCS&D Awards and dinner take place on the evening of the first day of the show. This national cold chain awards event recognises excellence in the perishable supply chain in a variety of categories and provides a great opportunity for networking and development across the cold chain.
Peter Gray, continued “As a family business with more almost 65 years’ experience in the industry, we work hard to attract and retain the best industry talent. Our specialist teams, from our design engineers to our sales professionals, are one of the reasons that our customers come back to work with us, time and again. We look forward to meeting many of our industry friends, colleagues, customers and contacts in person and are to being able to showcase the Vector eCool at the 2021 TCS&D Show, which promises to be another fantastic event.”
