C8 Energy, an Ontario-based heavy-duty equipment distributor, was recently named the North American master distributor for the patented SkelStart Engine Start Module. Invented by Skeleton Technologies, the SkelStart is now available to commercial fleets throughout the United States and Canada.
The SkelStart Engine Start Module is a supercapacitor that starts a vehicle engine even when the battery is largely depleted. As well as this, the module replaces starter batteries and is engineered to have a similar dimensional envelope as a standard commercial vehicle battery.
“Until now, U.S. fleets have been at the mercy of their maintenance practices and the weather when it comes to starter battery reliability,” said Jean Labrie, CEO of C8 Energy. Now, SkelStart modules can increase battery life by shouldering some of its responsibilities.
One SkelStart Engine Start Module will crank a 27-liter engine, and four SkelStarts can crank a large 85-liter engine, the company reported, even when the ambient temperature is as low as -40 degrees F or as high as 149 degrees F.
“We installed SkelStart Engine Start Modules as part of pilot field test programs in two very large fleets,” Labrie recounted. “When the subzero winter weather recently gripped the country, those fleets both reported that only the vehicles with the SkelStarts were able to start unassisted.”
Along with their durability in extreme temperatures, Skeleton Technologies reported that the lifespans of supercapacitors can theoretically outlast the vehicles they are installed in, as they can last for up to one million cycles.
Labrie explained. “One SkelStart can put out three times the amperage of an average lead-acid battery, and the high amperage means less system-wide exposure to the low voltage associated with depleted lead-acid batteries.”
