Thermo King’s e1000 all-electric transport refrigeration unit (TRU) for battery-electric Class 5-7 trucks recently was honored with the prestigious Top Product of the Year Award in the Environment + Energy Leader Awards program.
This accolade recognizes the e1000 TRU as a leader in its class, making great strides in energy or environmental management.
“We are extremely proud to receive this recognition from Environment + Energy Leader as it reinforces our decarbonization goals and commitment to advance technologies that reduce environmental impact for our customers, industry, and future generations,” Chris Tanaka, vice president of product management for Thermo King Americas, said in a news release. This includes our pledge to invest more than $100 million to deliver fully electric products into every segment of the cold chain in the Americas by 2025.”
Part of the Thermo King Evolve portfolio of electric products, the e1000 is the first large-capacity electric TRU without a diesel engine offered in North America that meets regulations for zero emissions, including California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Transport Refrigeration Unit 2023 Standard, Thermo King said.
With no mechanical components to maintain and no diesel fuel costs to budget, the e1000 helps companies reduce waste and emissions, and minimize total cost of ownership. The unit matches the performance of diesel offerings while delivering increased reliability, lower weight, and reduced noise, the company maintained. Its design integrates with electric chassis and offers both fresh and frozen setpoints for 16-28-foot truck boxes.
In addition, the e1000 comes standard with lower global warming potential R-452A, which helps customers further reduce their carbon footprint.
The qualities and achievements of the e1000 TRU captivated the attention of the program's distinguished panel of judges with one remarking, “I appreciate that Thermo King is a leading innovator in this space and zero-emissions refrigerated trucks will be critical to the decarbonization of food and beverage [and other] industries.”
The Environment + Energy Leader Awards program aims to commend excellence in products and projects that deliver significant energy and environmental benefits. Sarah Roberts, co-president of E+E Leader, emphasized the rigorous selection process, saying: “This year’s entrants had to surpass an exceptionally high bar to qualify for an award, thanks to a seasoned and discerning judging panel as well as stringent judging criteria.”