The City of Springfield, Illinois has purchased four Terex Utilities aerial lift/utility trucks with its HyPower hybrid system.

The four units, three HRX55 Hi-Ranger over centre and one TL50 Hi-Ranger telescopic, aerial work platforms/bucket trucks with material handling davits, were sold by Terex Utilities largest distributor – Dueco.

The HRX55 is intended for regular electric distribution applications, while the TL50 will be used for substation work. The new HyPower units replace older units in the city’s fleet of utility trucks and are part of Springfield’s alternative energy initiative.

The HyPower hybrid system is designed to reduce fuel consumption and noise, while improving efficiency, and is especially suited for the utility industry.

The system uses batteries to power all of the aerial lift functions in order to reduce, eliminate, the use of fuel while the vehicle is not travelling. The batteries are recharged from a normal AC power outlet, and should they run low, the vehicle’s engine will automatically kick in and provide a top up charge, or the unit can be switched to regular PTO drive.