Future-proofing at full strength

Whether you are driven by the desire to leave behind a cleaner environment and unchanged climate or feel the hot breath of government plans and legislation breathing down your neck, there is no question that there is a need for the construction industry to reduce CO2 emissions from its activities. The Dutch government is using both incentives and legislation to make the construction sector more sustainable in the coming years. The same wind is blowing outside the Netherlands in view of the ambitious Clean Industrial Deal at the European level. Emission reduction in the construction sector is necessary.

It presents construction machinery manufacturers with major challenges. Construction machinery is complex. The drive train, now mostly based on diesel combustion, is the heart of the machine. Low-emission or emission-free construction thus requires a heart transplant that touches all aspects of the machine.

At the same time, there are great opportunities. Now is also the time to start, possibly with subsidies, with innovative techniques and soon be at the forefront. But where to start to meet the challenges and cash in on the opportunities? In this Tech talk I will take you through the technical challenges and opportunities.

The challenge

The challenge is simple to explain: a machine must do functionally what it already does, but with fewer emissions of CO2 and other environmentally harmful substances. 
The first choice to be made is what the renewable energy carrier should be. Electricity is a well-known solution, but hydrogen is also an alternative to diesel. The choice of energy carrier determines the choices that will follow. Different energy carriers have different advantages and disadvantages. Because electricity is currently most commonly used in the context of (smaller) construction machinery, we will assume an electric drive in the remainder of this article. 

Integral design

After choosing the energy carrier, new issues immediately come around the corner. Consider: how much energy must be stored to meet the machine's production targets? This calculation involves more than determining the amount of energy burned in the form of diesel in the current situation. Important influencing factors include: the efficiency of the current internal combustion engine, the losses that occur in the (hydraulic) drive train and the duty cycle of the machine. 
A different heart in the machine also requires a different control infrastructure, both in hardware and software. Not only does the fuel tank turn into a battery, it also requires a charging system to be monitored and controlled. An alternator that originally drives the electrical part of the machine is replaced by a DC/DC converter. Transmissions, sensing, the entire control system is affected by the choice of an electric drive.  

And these are just the challenges that deal with the operation of the machine itself. The environment of the machine is also affected by implementation of an electric drive. One factor is the charging of electric construction machines. Limitations and opportunities in charging capacity can strongly guide the choices made in the machine itself. The operator may need different information to operate the machine properly. This means modifications in board computers and HMIs. 

Electrification or electrical design

If you, as a machine builder, want to take the first steps toward low-emission or emission-free machines with an existing, fossil-driven product portfolio, an existing product can serve well as a starting point. We then speak of "electrification," or "retrofit. This is a good step to gain experience with other and new techniques while continuing to use the proven concepts already present in the machine.

But, sticking to a design based on a different drive also gives limitations. For example, hydraulic transmissions tend to give losses. In an all-electric design, other choices can be made and the full potential of a specific renewable energy source can be exploited. This may include, for example, optimal placement of actuators that eliminates the need for (lossy) transmissions. Such choices then affect the entire machine. With an all-electric design, the product portfolio is expanded sustainably. 

Facing the challenge together

Electrification or electrical design are mostly new areas of knowledge for the construction equipment manufacturer. First building up all the knowledge 'in house' takes a long time and creates additional risks. RIWO can support and accelerate. As a system integrator for mobile machines, among other things, our strength is to consider the system as a whole. Our systems approach enables us to draw up and weigh up the various system designs within electrification and electrical design. We also weigh up alternative energy carriers. A hydrogen fuel cell can be more interesting for heavier construction machinery than an electric battery because of the shorter time to recharge in combination with the necessary amount of stored energy.

We make our knowledge and expertise available through our RINEWABLE platforms to (OEM) machine builders who want to get started on making their product portfolio more sustainable.

Our offer first includes a RIWOLUTION workshop in which we identify a sustainability or electrification issue and our experts can advise on a solution direction appropriate for the machine. Among the topics discussed are: the specific machine, different ways of energy storage and options regarding the technology to be used. The result of the workshop is a first sketch design of an electrified or electrically designed machine including advice on a follow-up trajectory.

Do you dare to take up the challenge with us? Get in touch, to take the first step in a RIWOLUTION workshop!