The transition to e-mobility in commercial vehicles can be optimised further by combining it with other innovations. How does Jost’s product range contribute to this process?
Jost is helping to make commercial vehicles more environmentally friendly by providing technologies to support electric or hybrid drives and developing weight-optimised products and applications to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Jost also provides advanced recycling solutions for end-of-life components. These innovations aim to minimise environmental impact, reduce the carbon footprint and promote sustainability in the transport sector.
With the e-axle, Jost will offer a cost-effective and modular system that can be used flexibly and in a resource-conserving manner for both battery-electric trucks and vehicles with conventional combustion engines. Thanks to its lightweight and compact design, the e-axle can be used flexibly in a wide range of applications: from light distribution transport over short distances, to long-haul transport requiring long ranges, to heavy-duty transport for traction support during starting manoeuvres. The e-axle can be modularly adapted to a wide range of application requirements and offers a cost-effective way to make transport fleets more sustainable. The zero-emission drive reduces the CO2 emissions of conventional diesel vehicles and increases the range of the combination, regardless of the drive type. Savings of more than 20 percent have been achieved in field tests.
Our high performance biodegradable lubricant JHS 2020 B protects heavy-duty moving joints such as fifth wheel couplings from wear. Jost is the first manufacturer to launch a fully biodegradable version for its fifth wheel couplings. The lubricant is suitable for manual lubrication of all fifth wheel couplings, kingpins and ball and cage assemblies. It is fully biodegradable, has minimal application requirements, temperature resistance, high adhesion to metal surfaces and minimal water absorption.
Software-based mobility is increasingly moving towards autonomous driving. Where do Jost technologies provide support?
We are also committed to supporting the shift towards more connected and intelligent commercial vehicles. We have developed many products, such as the KKS automatic coupling system, to support the technological shift towards highly automated and autonomous logistics solutions.
The KKS allows the truck driver to couple and uncouple the semi-trailer by remote control without leaving the cab—automatically, safely and quickly. The driver is guided through the entire semi-trailer process and, thanks to the sensor system, receives information about the coupling process at all times on the KKS remote control. For example, the trailer plate sensor indicates whether there is contact with the trailer plate, and the correct position of the kingpin is also monitored by sensors. The driver no longer has to get out of the cab to manually open the fifth wheel, crank the landing gear or manually connect the spiral cables and air connections. Time, comfort and safety gains are possible with just one product. With the KKS, Jost aims to set new standards for performance and reliability in the transport industry.
The KKS represents the future of logistics and is a key component for end-to-end processes in autonomous driving. Together with Jost’s partner Aitonomi Group, a Swiss AI start-up for autopilot and intelligent self-driving logistics solutions, we are already working on the integration of the KKS as well as the steering and axle systems with Aitonomi's AutoPilot system. The aim of the partnership is to develop fully autonomous transport solutions for depots and port terminals, which are already proving successful in the field.
How important are strategic partnerships for Jost to make a significant contribution to the development of climate-neutral transport solutions?
Strategic partnerships play a key role for us. In addition to our own product development, we have formed partnerships to drive highly automated and autonomous logistics solutions, electrification and sustainable resource management in the commercial vehicle industry. This is our commitment to driving innovation, CO2 reduction and efficiency in the industry. The combination of extensive experience in systems and components for the commercial vehicle industry and innovative approaches to solutions forms the basis for joint research and development efforts.
Jost invests in Aitonomi and Trailer Dynamics, two start-ups with innovative transport solutions in the field of autonomous driving and electrification. Jost also enters into a development partnership with BET Motors to jointly develop innovative vehicle architectures for electric drive systems. Another development partnership is with Fernride. Through this collaboration, we are pooling our expertise and resources to develop scalable technologies that automate the operation of trucks in closed environments such as terminals and depots.
