Windrose Develops 70 kW iPad-Sized Electric PTO — SkimNews
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- Windrose developed an all-electric PTO delivering up to 70 kW from its 800V high-voltage platform, packaged in a module roughly iPad-sized and baked directly into the company's proprietary e-axle
- CEO Wen Han said Windrose built the EPTO in-house, explaining no suitable off-the-shelf solution existed to power ramps and racks on the specialized trailers used by vehicle transport fleets
- The R700 electric semi previously hauled a 75,000 lb combined load more than 578 miles between Colton, California and Buckeye, Arizona along the I-10 freight corridor
- Windrose's design sidesteps a PTO challenge that dogs transmission-less electric trucks like the Tesla Semi, where accessory power for hydraulic pumps, cranes, plows, and other gear designed around mechanical PTOs is hard to deliver
- Mack and Volvo avoid the same problem by mating an electric drive motor to their existing I-Shift automated transmission on the VNR Electric
- Ken North, emerging technologies consultant for the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), called the EPTO a potential "Swiss-Army-Knife of application possibilities" for electric highway trucks, especially in Canada
Why it matters: By integrating 70 kW of accessory power directly into the e-axle, Windrose eliminates the add-on electric motors and power electronics that other electric truck builders need to run conventional trailer equipment, giving the R700 a concrete advantage in the car-carrier segment where fleets couldn't previously go electric.
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