Emissions & Efficiency

Fill 'er Up

Aug. 3, 2015

This Saturday, I was at a conference for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in my home town of Portland, Oregon. I was taking a few pictures of the different charging stations and a thought occurred to me. What if (that important question that innovators and engineers often ask) we re-purposed the charging stations to provide a high speed charge for the batteries on Class 8 sleeper trucks at truck stops and rest areas?

Paul Menig

Last Wednesday, I was at a conference for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in my home town of Portland, Oregon. I was taking a few pictures of the different charging stations and a thought occurred to me. What if (that important question that innovators and engineers often ask) we re-purposed the charging stations to provide a high speed charge for the batteries on Class 8 sleeper trucks at truck stops and rest areas?

One charging station company indicated they are working with Love's, but from the perspective of charging passenger vehicles frequenting the restaurant and hotels they want to put in. What if the fuel island could safely have a charging station so that before you head out for a day of driving, you add diesel, check the oil, add DEF and add some coulombs of charge to the batteries with a high speed charger? Maybe we should consider having TMC or SAE Truck and Bus Electrical consider this potential for over-the-road trucks.

About the Author

Paul Menig | CEO

Paul Menig is the leader of Tech-I-M LLC, a consulting company focused on helping companies succeed by leveraging technology in their products and processes. After successfully introducing many high tech products in the corporate worlds of General Electric, Eaton and Daimler, he is now focused on savvy technology creating powerful results in companies of all sizes.

Paul also provides free counseling to a wide range of businesses as part of the non-profit organization SCORE that is associated with the Small Business Administration (SBA). Paul is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in electrical engineering and has participated in many training programs in quality, strategic planning, finance and technical areas.