Fuel-cutting system hits the road

Otago Daily Times

08-07-2025

A Christchurch innovator's new electric pumping system for milk tankers is making big fuel savings and cutting vehicle emissions.
Newspec founder Jeff Naish commercialised the Motiva pump a year ago with seven units now on the road after a phase of research and development over five years.
His battery and power take-off (PTO) hydraulic pump eliminates the need for a tanker to idle during milk collection, cutting their running time by 20% to 25% for savings of about 500 litres to 600 litres of diesel a month.
On top of that, engine noise is reduced by about 80%, fewer mechanical parts need servicing and there is less wear and tear.
Hilton Haulage, which collects milk for Synlait, has seven Newspec electric pumping units installed among its fleet of about 80 tankers and has committed to a wider rollout.
Mr Naish saw the system being used more widely, with commercial trials being held for utilities, container handling and virtually any vehicles needing to idle to power hydraulic systems.
As a technician for Newlands Auto Electrical, he was servicing a milk tanker at Synlait's Dunsandel site in about 2018 when he noticed tanker engines with conventional pumps were on idle for hours.
"I was on the tools more than nowadays and realised the milk pump being driven by the engine seemed like a bit of a silly idea at the time and I thought we can actually do this electrically.
"Fuel costs at the time were starting to increase significantly so the price of diesel was at the forefront of mind."
Diesel engine-driven pumps often need to be repaired when they were running to test them and it was hard to hold a conversation because of noise levels.
"Based on the findings of the tanker fleet we are working on we calculated there's about 100 hours a month in idle or PTO time that's been eliminated by our system.
"That's close to 600 litres of diesel a month for a truck doing that amount and then add the cost of diesel per litre. It's quite significant."
This was confirmed in an analysis by University of Canterbury mechanical engineering associate head Dr Digby Symons when compared with conventional mechanical PTO systems.
He found the battery-electric option provided significant savings in fuel consumption and total engine running hours with further reductions in engine wear and maintenance.
The system's self-charging design works well for rural operations, where charging infrastructure is often limited.
Mr Naish said the battery system was recharged by the vehicle's alternator as it went from one farm to the next to collect milk.
A solar option needed to reduce its recharging time to make it viable, but plug options to connect to the main grid were available.
"The outlay [of a battery-run system] for a tanker is about twice the cost of a standard set-up, but based on our findings the return on investment is no later than 12 months.
"We are able to produce a really good return on investment and we are also able to back that environmental factor. Another benefit is the reduction of engine hours."
This prolonged the life of a vehicle sitting idle for 25% to 26% of the time, he said.
The Newspec system is designed so operators cannot pump milk unless the engine is turned off to make sure savings are being made for the "bill payer".
Knowledge he gained from working on milk tankers for 15 years was put to use to build a hardy design.
Strong mounting options and more lately fabricating it with stainless steel were added so it was equipped to handle farm access.
"The first truck has just surpassed 35 million litres of milk now and collectively we have now done just over 60 million litres electrically with our system and we built it to withstand that robust nature of [operating] a milk tanker in Canterbury."
The batteries were expected to last a minimum of 12 years and would likely be re-purposed after that to power golf carts, Mr Naish said.
The electric pumps operated at the same speed as conventional models and this was backed by tests with Fonterra.
Customers told him reduced servicing saved about $10,000 in costs per vehicle. Conventional pumps often needed large attention within three to four years.
Maintaining the Newspec system was "cost effective" with a service including a filter change yearly and hydraulic oil replaced every two years.
Newspec was in talks to build its customer base with Fonterra as well as Westland Milk Products and Langford Transport, a milk and general freight operator in the North Island.
There were good opportunities to increase sales with an estimated 700 milk tankers operating nationwide, he said.
Further opportunities existed outside of dairying as the Newspec unit could be easily adapted for other industries such as lifting platforms used by power line companies, electric utilities and rubbish collections.
As well as being the owner of Newspec, he has become a shareholder and director for Newlands, where he first got the idea for the electrical pump.
He works closely with Auckland and Christchurch-based company Hyspecs which designs and services hydraulic, electric and automation systems and the relationship has opened doors for further sales.
Newspec's business name paid respect to Newlands and Hyspecs which had both been supportive of the venture and earlier development, he said.
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