Could European truck racing soon see an all-electric truck on the grid? If Team Hahn’s fully electric, MoTeC-equipped race truck is any indicator, the answer is absolutely!

Designed specifically for the FIA European Truck Racing Championship (ETRC), the high-tech eTruck is built on an Iveco platform and boasts an impressive 1224 horsepower. Rapid acceleration sees it reach the Championship-mandated limit of 160km/h with ease, despite weighing in at 5.8 tonnes.

The truck carries four lithium-ion Battery packs, configured with two in series and two in parallel, providing ample battery capacity to complete each race without a recharge. Bosch inverters seamlessly run the drivetrain's electric motors, optimising the truck’s performance and efficiency.

Between races, the team’s high voltage system with 800 volt technology makes quick work of a full recharge.

How do MoTeC electronics control the vehicle?

VCU

Team Hahn’s eTruck is equipped with a sophisticated MoTeC M190 Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) that controls crucial subsystems in the vehicle, such as the e-Axle, BMS (Battery Management System), DC/DC converter, HV-PDU, cooling pumps, EBS (Electronic Braking System), steering system and air compressor.

The e-Axle in the truck’s drivetrain is powered by two motors (peak power of 840 kW) and two Bosch inverters, which are controlled by MoTeC’s M1 torque mapping/vectoring strategy.

An on-board liquid cooling system, driven by two pumps, is used to cool the truck’s high voltage components. The M190 controls the pumps to maintain the flow rate and pressure that is required to cool to the desired temperature.

The truck also features regenerative braking, which can be enabled and tuned by the user. MoTeC’s VCU monitors the battery performance during Drive and Charge operation modes to ensure the safety of the battery packs.

These are just some of the crucial sub-systems that the MoTeC M190 VCU controls in this world-first electric race truck.

Display Logger

Complementing the control technology, a MoTeC C1212 Display Logger displays real-time insights to the driver about vehicle health, battery status and speed metrics during races. If a system has a fault, the driver will be alerted on the display immediately. Moreover, the Display Logger records pertinent data for post-race analysis using MoTeC’s renowned i2 Data Analysis Software.

Low Voltage Power Management

The eTruck’s low voltage Power Management duties are handled by a MoTeC PDM32 (Power Distribution Module). This robust, IP67-rated unit eliminates the need for fuses and relays while providing smart control of essential functions like windshield wipers, lighting and front demister, which are activated via a 15-button MoTeC Keypad in the cabin.

Utilisation of these advanced technologies elevates the eTruck's performance and reliability to unprecedented levels in the realm of electric trucks. Take a look as Team Hahn share their insights into this innovative build: