To reduce the carbon footprint and save on fuel, you can opt for various solutions, but the one for trucks I'm talking about today is quite innovative. A Spanish start-up, Eco Wind Top System, has created a device called 'Run&Save' which allows trucks to "fly" and reduce consumption. Currently undergoing homologation in Barcelona, this Spanish system could arrive on the market in about a year.
It is the result of the talent of Abdon Estefan e Mauricio Vargas, two Colombian engineers and passionate airplane pilots who speak of their invention as a revolution for the logistics sector. Let's see what it is.
A truck that flies to reduce consumption?
Before illustrating this device, I would like to say that I do not use the quotation marks randomly: these are, of course, not flying trucks. However, these are vehicles that exploit a force similar to that which keeps planes in flight. You know the lift? It is the force that opposes the weight of an airplane, created by the air flowing over its wings. The faster the air moves over the wing, the more lift is generated. This is why airplanes have high-speed wings designed to move as much air as possible.
A sort of "lift" which now, applied to a lorry (but it can also be applied to trains and buses) can reduce a lot of consumption. How many? 25% fuel, 15% greenhouse gases and also tire wear.
When will we see Run & Save around?
Adriana Estefan, marketing manager of the Spanish startup, confirms that the concession of the patent dates back to 2021, and the solution of Eco Wind Top System it should be commercialized in 2023.
Today it is developed in the form of a device that uses kinetic energy to reduce the weight of the truck and cut consumption, but the startup plans to license its invention to allow car manufacturers to integrate Run&Save directly into the bodywork.
What we do is use the headwind to move forward, because all the energy that is generated around the vehicle is wasted, but we harvest it to generate positive effects. It's like installing a wind generator.
Mauricio Vargas, Eco Wind Top System
The system has an approximate cost of between 12.000 and 15.000 euros, but the estimates of the Spanish engineers say it would pay for itself in a year and a half.
