Wabash unveils Acutherm refrigerated truck body with EcoNex

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky—Wabash unveiled a medium-duty truck body made of a new composite material that could make refrigerated transportation a more efficient and green industry.

Transportation today faces constant pressure to become more energy efficient. With this new composite technology, refrigerated transportation’s next big step in temperature control efficiency is happening in the very structure of the refrigerated body.

“The market has not seen a new way of constructing refrigerated truck bodies for half a century,” Kevin Sumrak, senior director of sales and truck body strategy for Wabash, told FleetOwner. “That’s why it’s something that’s really revolutionary in the refrigerated market today.”

At Wabash’s 2024 conference in Louisville, Wabash Ignite, the company displayed its new medium-duty truck using the composite: the Wabash Acutherm refrigerated freight body with EcoNex Technology.

EcoNex, the company's proprietary technology, replaces conventional refrigerated truck body construction, using what Wabash says is a significantly lighter and 25% more thermally efficient build.

EcoNex Technology consists of a foam-insulated core surrounded by a polymer fiber-reinforced shell with a protective gel coat surface.

Structure and insulation in one material

What is EcoNex?

EcoNex Technology is a composite developed by Wabash for refrigerated truck bodies. It boasts both high thermal efficiency and structural integrity. The composite consists of a foam-insulated core surrounded by a polymer fiber-reinforced shell with a protective gel coat surface.

Wabash built panels with the EcoNex composite for use in its new medium-duty refrigerated truck body. The company says the composite panel provides several major advantages over traditional refrigerated body builds, including greater thermal efficiency, a smaller carbon footprint, and lighter weight.

A significant benefit of the truck body’s EcoNex panels is the panels’ independent structural integrity.

Traditional refrigerated body builds generally use an insulating foam, such as Freon-blown urethane, for thermal efficiency and surround it with structural metal like aluminum posts and skins.

EcoNex composite panels, on the other hand, provide both thermal efficiency and structure in one package. The composite has the structural strength to meet operational needs without metal posts.

Comparing a traditional medium-duty truck body to one built with composite panels, a body built with EcoNex is roughly 15% lighter—equal to about 700 lb. of weight savings, Nick Clickenbeard, product manager for Wabash, told FleetOwner.

An added benefit of the composite panel is a smooth exterior.

“You’re not going to see any seams really on it because it’s all molded as one part,” Clickenbeard said. “That smooth exterior, especially with no seams, is great for decals. You don’t have the rivets sticking up.”

Greater, more reliable thermal efficiency

Overall, a refrigerated body using the EcoNex panels is roughly 25% more thermally efficient than a traditional body, according to Wabash. These composite panels also provide a smoother temperature profile and slower degradation.

Smooth temperature profile

Traditional refrigerated bodies need metal posts in the walls for structural support, leading to less consistent temperature control across the body.

“That’s a great way to conduct heat from the outside in,” Clickenbeard told FleetOwner.

Each metal post, less insulated than the rest of the body, brings a significant change in temperature for specific points in the body. With the composite panels using EcoNex technology, metal posts aren’t needed.

“There are so many fewer spots where you have that drastic change in temperature profile,” Clickenbeard said. “You have a much more consistent temperature profile across the body.”

With the refrigerated truck body built from EcoNex composite panels, both interior and exterior walls are smooth and without excessive seams.

Less moisture intrusion

The tight composition of a truck body using EcoNex panels also means less water intrusion, according to Wabash.

“With conventional construction, you actually have open areas on the ends where the wall would fit into the extrusions and other areas in the construction that allow water to penetrate the wall and get into the insulation,” Sumrak told FleetOwner. “With EcoNex, you don’t have that.”

The construction of the composite panels, including the composite’s protective gel coat, introduces fewer voids in the body. The panels are then significantly less likely to absorb water over the life of the body, Sumrak said. Less moisture intrusion means even greater comparative thermal efficiency as the body ages.

Energy saved

Greater overall thermal efficiency means that fleets have to spend less energy powering transportation refrigeration units.

“Many of our fleets will run the refrigeration unit roughly 1,600 to 2,000 hours a year just to keep the product cold,” Clickenbeard explained. “That’s utilizing half a gallon of diesel per hour. If we say 1,600 hours a year and you improve 25% on that, that’s 400 hours that you’re not running your refrigeration unit.”

Smaller carbon footprint

A truck body using these composite panels saves more than just TRU hours.

Because a body using the panels needs no metal frame, manufacturing requires less metal production. Minimizing steel and aluminum production, both highly carbon-intensive processes, means a smaller carbon footprint for the vehicle.

Energy savings for the body also go beyond TRU use. With a lighter overall weight compared to traditional bodies (about 700 lb.), the medium-duty truck body using EcoNex panels would require less fuel or energy to move.

With the onset of electric vehicles, limited range makes energy efficiency crucial, while heavy batteries make lightweight builds advantageous.

“It’s great for ICE engines, and I would say it’s even better for EVs,” Sumrak said.