At Bauma China 2020 this week, Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is displaying a mini Volvo Electric Site – a scale replica of the company’s groundbreaking concept for the quarrying industry. Volvo Electric Site project challenges traditional ways of working by electrifying each transport stage in a quarry, bringing together electric and autonomous prototype machines, and site management systems to form a complete site solution. The system is designed to achieve zero emissions, zero unplanned stops, zero accidents and ten times greater efficiency.
While initially quarrying focussed, Electric Site is also very relevant to smaller mines. Even in larger scale mining, Volvo CE is in discussions with global miners on both upscaling the machines but also on the haulage side the potential for mines to operate “swarms” of smaller electric and autonomous trucks.
Electric Site included four HX02 autonomous, battery-electric load carriers. This autonomous electric hauler was further developed by Volvo CE and has now been handed over for commercialisation to Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS). The new TA15 autonomous and electric haulers are part of the TARA autonomous transport solution from VAS. These machines use a lithium ion battery to power two electric motors driving the machine and a third driving the hydraulics. Each TA15 follows an adjustable, pre-programmed GPS path with a vision system allowing it to detect people and obstacles in the way.
It also includes one LX01 wheel loader concept, which is a series hybrid with a driveline consisting of electric drive motors mounted at the wheels, electric-driven hydraulics, an energy storage system, a significantly smaller diesel engine, and new machine architecture. This combination enables a 50% improvement in fuel efficiency versus traditional wheel loaders, along with quieter operation and significantly lower emissions.
Lastly it includes the EX01 70 ton dual-powered, cable-connected excavator prototype. The base machine for the EX01 is a Volvo EC750 crawler excavator that has been upgraded to incorporate an electric motor in addition to the diesel engine. If the machine is plugged into the grid, zero emissions are emitted. If the cable is connected, the EX01 will automatically start in electric mode. If it’s not, it will start in diesel mode.
The Electric Site concept was tested for 10 weeks at a real quarry outside Gothenburg in Sweden, where it achieved a 98% reduction in carbon emissions, 70% reduction in energy cost and 40% reduction in operator cost.
Although the Volvo Electric Site is not a commercial offer, it could serve as a model for rethinking production operations torun on green, sustainable power, while increasing safety and efficiency. Indeed, its application is not limited to quarries. “Volvo Electric Site is especially relevant for China as the country strives to reduce emissions and achieve energy independence. We hope our concept will serve as useful inspiration to challenge traditional ways of working for a greener, more energy efficient, and safer future,” says Mats Sköldberg, Head of Technology at Volvo CE China.
Different parts of the Volvo Group are now maturing the technologies to prepare them for commercialisation. The electric excavator, which has been unveiled at Bauma China, will shortly go for testing by real customers in China and South Korea to gather feedback. The TARA transport solution, including the TA15, will soon be commercialised by Volvo Autonomous Solutions.
Volvo CE has on display two new electric customer pilot excavators at Bauma China – the 5.5 t EC55 Electric and the 22 t EC230 Electric (pictured) –which will both shortly go for testing by real customers in China. These electric excavators are powered by lithium ion batteries and can work a full day with a high-power lunch-hour charge. This is the first time Volvo CE has developed electric customer pilot machines for China. These excavators are not commercially available yet but during this research phase Volvo CE aims to mature them quickly so that they can be commercialised as soon as possible.The EC55 Electric has been developed in China with locally sourced components for the needs of Chinese customers, using a common electromobility and charging platform. The EC230 Electric, meanwhile, has been designed at Volvo facilities in Changwon, South Korea to suit a broader Asian customer base. Although the two excavators differ in size, they will both deliver the same performance as their diesel-powered counterparts, if not better, with the added benefits of zero emissions, low noise, and low total cost of ownership. The energy running costs for the EC55 Electric are expected to be 50% lower than for its conventional diesel-powered counterpart the EC55D, while the EC230 Electric is expected to achieve a 60-70% reduction compared to the diesel-powered EC220E.
“China is the largest e-mobility market globally and is moving quickly as the country strives for sustainable power and clean, emission-free vehicles,” says Sköldberg. “This, combined with the large local supply of e-mobility components, makes China the perfect place to innovate and test ground-breaking electric solutions.”
In addition, the 14 t concept EX03 electric wheeled excavator with innovative rear screen safety feature made its second appearance at Bauma China after a world premiere at CIIE 2020. The EX03 is the company’s first electric prototype in the mid-size excavator range. Based on tried and tested technology and product design, the prototype is the next natural stage in Volvo CE’s electromobility journey, following on from previous iterations of the smaller fully electric EX02 concept electric excavator. While still in the concept stage with no current plans to bring it to market, the company is exploring the possibility of eventually trialing a similar version of the EX03 in customer pilots.
Volvo CE has also included the latest telematics system in China, enabled by Volvo ActiveCare proactive monitoring, to fulfil Chinese electromobility data regulations and meet aftermarket service requirements. These in-built telematics willprovide instant feedback, accelerating the company’s understanding of the excavator’s operation and performance for faster maturation and commercialisation.
“While the Volvo Electric Site presents a futuristic vision, the fact that we are testing some of the components with real customers in China to prepare them for commercialisation means that these groundbreaking electric and autonomous technologies could only just be around the corner and help drive China’s industrial strategy towards green vehicles and sustainable power,” Sköldberg concludes.
