Volvo construction equipment has unveiled what it believes is the first all-electric mini excavator prototype.
Eight months ago, the LX1 hybrid electric loader and HX1 loader prototypes unveiled their latest prototypes, the EX2 mini excavator, as part of Volvo’s vision for a future of automated and electric quarries.
EX2 is 100% electric. Instead of an internal combustion engine, the lithium-ion Battery Provide 38 kilowatt-hours of electricity for what Vlv calls “mini applications, such as digging the mini ground.”
The machine also has no hydraulic system. Instead, a combination of electromechanical linear actuators provides power to the boom and tools, and “Helps optimize the transmission chain,”said Ahsena, Volvo’s chief power electronics engineer and EX2 project leader
“The prototype provides the same power and strength as the conventional model, and the combination moves faster,”says Ahcène Nedjimi. All this without affecting the performance of the premise of the machine, to ensure that the needs of customers
In addition to offering zero emission machines, the removal of internal combustion engines and hydraulic systems also means that EX2 is 10 times more efficient, 10 times less noisy, and 10 times cheaper to own than conventional cars, Vlv said.
For now, Vlv says, EX2 is purely a proof of concept, and the company has no plans to build or market the machine. The company said it would continue to use EX2 for research projects such as durability testing.
“This represents the future of our industry,”NECMI said. EX2 is a revolutionary machine. Because of its zero emissions and 10 times lower noise levels, it can easily be used in densely populated areas without disturbing people — even at night. The machine is 10 times more efficient and the system is maintenance free, although the EX2 was presented at a conference on future urban infrastructure and transport, Vlv is still working on how to fully equip the quarry with electric heavy equipment.
The company’s Electric Field Research, which includes automated and electric HX1 loaders and field tested LX1 hybrid wheel loaders, continues through 2018 and seeks to build an electrified quarry that not only reduces carbon emissions by up to 95 percent, but also potentially reduces the total cost of quarry ownership by 25 percent.
