Range Energy is partnering with ZF to help drive the development and adoption of the Range eTrailer System within the North American commercial trucking industry. The collaboration will see ZF’s AxTrax 2 e-axle integrated into Range’s eTrailer System to address critical fleet demands, such as greater efficiency, emissions reductions, and range extension, with the goal of advancing the widespread scalability of hybrid and zero-emissions trucking.
“We believe electrified trailers are a viable solution to help lower emissions for food delivery or transportation of goods, improve fuel economy for combustion engines in the powertrain, extend the range of BEV and electric trucks, reduce exhaust, noise and brake particle pollution, and further improve total cost of ownership,” said John Hawkins, senior vice president, Commercial Vehicle Solutions, ZF. “Collaborating with Range not only expands the electric mobility applications of our products, it gives us the opportunity to work with an emerging leader offering a smart solution to emissions in a hard-to-abate sector.”
In addition to supplying its electric axle to Range, ZF will also seek to accelerate Range’s relationships with ecosystem partners, such as component suppliers and integrations with trailer and tractor original equipment manufacturers. Range’s eTrailer System includes a modular battery pack, the ZF AxTrax 2 e-axle, and a smart kingpin equipped with Range’s patented control algorithms.
Indeed, trailers are emerging as a critical technology area for further supply chain carbon emission reductions to meet transition timelines in Europe and the U.S., as ZF and several European trailer manufacturers explained at IAA Transportation 2024 in Hannover, Germany, last fall.
Under the new brand name TrailTrax, ZF's electric trailer concept integrates its in-house developed 210 kW AxTrax 2 e-Axle, trailer EBS, and battery system box into a trailer. Leading trailer manufacturers, including Kässbohrer and Krone,
So why isn’t ZF bringing their entire package to North America? Simply, the markets are different and, given Range's head start on this side of the Atlantic, the partnership is "a win-win," Jason Paauwe, ZF North American lead for trailer sales, explained to Trailer-Body Builders.
"To get this solution into the hands of the fleets the quickest was in both our interests," Paauwe said. "They really have a unique concept here for the North American market. And trucks and trailers were a little different here versus in Europe."
Range’s eTrailer System is delivering projected savings of up to $20,000 per trailer per year in early tests, and up to 70 percent reduction in emissions, all while using existing equipment and infrastructure, the company said.
“Time is of the essence to get solutions into the hands of commercial fleet owners and operators to ensure smooth and consistent operations as their fleets evolve to address emissions reduction targets,” said Ali Javidan, Range CEO and founder. “With ZF, we aim to rapidly advance our platform with tried and tested components, further proving that electric powered trailers can play a critical role in reducing the environmental impact of commercial trucking.”
AxTrax 2 is an axle-based, fully integrated system, featuring a compact design to help maximize the available space for batteries and enhance manufacturers’ design flexibility for future vehicle concepts. It is designed to be fully synchronized with key vehicle functions, including braking, ADAS and automated driving systems to help enhance vehicle safety and efficiency. It also enables advanced digital and telematics systems via CAN bus to communicate and share e-axle system information.
And it’s not unusual for global giant ZF to take on the role of a Tier Two supplier, Paauwe continued, pointing to the relationship the company has had with Hendrickson for the MAXX22T air disc brake.
Range and ZF began discussion at ACT Expo in 2023, where ZF first showcased the AxTrax 2.
“Range was looking for a trusted partner, someone at the forefront of electrification, and a reliable supplier who could help usher in that trailer electrification technology,” Paauwe said. “We've definitely had some of those direct discussions with OEMs before, but we were trying to decide on what makes the most realistic sense; who has all the pieces to pull this together? So we're looking to accelerate Range’s relationships with the ecosystem partners, and this collaboration would be the way to go to get the solutions into the hands of the fleets and the end users the quickest.”
Range and ZF have identified several use cases where trailer electrification makes sense in North America, as opposed to Europe, but Trump administration policy changes regarding EVs and emissions and the impacts on commercial vehicle electrification “will be interesting to see,” Paauwe noted.
“There is a real business case here. The most exciting is the opportunity to continue to use an ICE-engine truck or tractor to pull an e-trailer,” he said. “Again, this just helps the calculation—the stepping stone—for TCO make a little more sense in the short term for fleets and end-users to still accomplish their sustainability and ESG goals.”
Initial customer deliveries of Range’s eTrailer System are expected to begin this year, and the company currently has pre-production units deployed in customer pilots across North America.
"We want to get there first and be quick but, at the same time and since this is such a new endeavor for both companies, we want to make sure the service and support is there from the grassroots level," Paauwe said.