MONTREAL – The Lion Electric Co. (Lion) and Boivin Évolution (BEV) have unveiled the world’s first Class 8 truck with a powertrain and automated collection hopper that are 100 percent electric.

For the first time, a zero-emission truck with a fully electric waste collection hopper and automated arm will be put into service.

“We are very proud that The Lion Electric Co. is ready to commercially launch its first all-electric Class 8 waste collection truck,” said Marc Bédard, the company’s founder and CEO.

“Lion and Boivin Évolution combined their know-how to make this world premiere a reality. It’s one more step in our quest to electrify heavy-duty vehicles. Once again, we’ve done what everyone said was impossible!”

Conceived, designed, and manufactured for the electric market, the Lion8 chassis and the BEV all-electric automated side-loading hopper will be used to collect household waste, recycling, and organic material.

“Thanks to our partnership, we can offer an all-electric automated waste collection truck, a first in the waste collection industry. We can be very proud of this 100 percent Quebec technological breakthrough that will transform waste collection through better performance and a smaller ecological footprint,” said Claude Boivin, founder and CEO of Boivin Évolution.

The truck has a range of up to 400 km or a full day of operation (1,200 homes) on a single charge.It can be charged overnight when electricity rates are lower, and delivers savings of up to 80 percent on total energy costs.

It creates no noise pollution, and zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It also delivers 60 percent lower service costs thanks to the simple, low-maintenance electric powertrain that has few components, and longer lasting brakes due to a regenerative braking system.

No hydraulic fluid is needed for pumps, pipes, and hoses – all hopper and arm movements are powered by the battery that drives electric motors for each function.

The unit can be self-sufficient with its own battery pack, and no need of power from the chassis. It can also be integrated on a LION8 chassis to optimize the battery pack size, energy consumption and the battery recharge, for a full working day (1,000 carts per day). Fully recharge of the battery is four to eight hours.

The unit has a screw type compactor that carries compacted waste through a front body wall and ejector panel. Full eject is performed with packthrough ejector.

The Lion Electric Co. is an innovative manufacturer of zero emission heavy-duty vehicles. It designs, engineers, and manufactures all-electric buses and minibuses for the school, paratransit, and mass transit markets, as well as commercial urban electric trucks.