The rise of electrification seems to be an obvious topic, but it is certainly not a trend that can be ignored. From construction equipment to fluid power equipment to lawn equipment, almost every industry is moving towards electrification.
Although electrification still has many challenges - especially for vehicles and mobile devices - such as charging infrastructure and grid capacity, it is currently considered one of the key ways to reduce global emissions.
In recent years, due to various reasons, the development of electric vehicles of various sizes and types has picked up. One of the main reasons is the reduction of battery cost and the improvement of its design and chemical composition. Advances in other essential components (e.g. motors, electric vehicle shafts, etc.) also contribute to the ability of manufacturers to develop more electric vehicle options.
Rising fuel prices, more technological improvements, greater emission reductions and other benefits of using electric vehicles - reduced maintenance and improved efficiency - will help drive the electrification market in the coming years. With the development of electrification, it will also affect other related industries and component manufacturers, such as manufacturers engaged in fluid power and motion control.
Passenger car electrification will grow by 2027
In recent years, the automobile market has vigorously promoted electrification, and it has developed to the present that even pickup trucks are electrified. Manufacturers such as General Motors (GM) have announced plans to increase sales of electric vehicles (EVS) in the coming years. General Motors has said that it plans to launch 30 new electric vehicle models worldwide by 2025.
GM is not alone. According to a recent electric vehicle market report of meticulous research, the electric vehicle market will achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.6% by 2027. According to the data of 2020, the research company predicts that the market value will reach 2495.4 billion US dollars and 233.9 million vehicles by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 21.7%.
Meticulous research listed the following reasons as some key factors driving the growth of electric vehicles in its press release announcing the release of the report:
·Government policies and regulations support;
·Leading automotive OEM manufacturers increase investment;
·Increasingly serious environmental problems;
·Battery price drops;
·Progress in charging system technology.
Other drivers include the increased adoption of electric vehicles in emerging economies and the growth of autonomous vehicle. However, the research company does point out that the lack of charging infrastructure in these markets will bring challenges, just as it is now in many parts of the world.
Although the covid-19 epidemic has indeed affected the global supply chain, resulting in the interruption of production in the automotive market, including electric vehicles, meticulous research said that due to the strong recovery and demand in China, the electric vehicle field will have a relatively rapid recovery. The electric vehicle market in Europe and China is expected to recover strongly, but the United States is expected to lag behind. It remains to be seen whether this will change as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has led to high fuel prices.
Meticulous research pointed out that it is expected that the positive measures taken by the European and Chinese governments will help stabilize the electric vehicle industry in these regions. It expects Europe to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 35.7% in value and the highest compound annual growth rate of 23.3% in the forecast period. This will be attributed to increasingly stringent emission regulations and the availability of charging networks.
China recorded the largest sales of electric vehicles in 2021, thanks to the strong support of the government for these models. Meticulous research said that as the government continues to strengthen and promote, the sales volume of the automobile market will reach 25% by 2025, and the market will further grow. By 2027, vehicles with power output in the range of 100-250 kW are expected to achieve the highest growth. This is due to the rapid growth of heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks.
GM said that the ultium platform is the foundation of its electric vehicle strategy, including batteries, modules and battery packs, as well as drive units including motors and integrated power electronic devices
GM said that the ultium platform is the foundation of its electric vehicle strategy, including batteries, modules and battery packs, as well as drive units including motors and integrated power electronic devices
By 2035, electric medium and heavy trucks will be cost competitive
Electrification has accelerated in the field of commercial vehicles. Manufacturers hope to realize the electrification of all products from shuttle buses to delivery trucks, school buses and class 8 trucks. As with cars, charging time and infrastructure demand are a major obstacle in this market.
Applications such as school buses, vehicles returning to a base where charging infrastructure can be installed, or applications that stop frequently throughout the day and can utilize regenerative braking are the best use cases for electrification so far. However, long-distance truck transportation faces greater challenges because there is no national charging infrastructure for these vehicles in the United States or other countries. This work is being carried out in many parts of the world, but it will face challenges for some time.
Several major OEMs, such as Daimler and Volvo, are trying to help develop the charging infrastructure for large trucks because they also see the demand and know that it is a necessary part of increasing the market share of electric vehicles.
Despite the challenges, electrification will continue to grow in this market. Traton group, the parent company of commercial vehicle brands including Scania and Navistar, announced on March 16 that it plans to increase investment in alternative energy technologies for commercial vehicles. The company said that it would invest 2.6 billion euros in the research and development of electric vehicles by 2026; Previously, the company planned to invest 1.6 billion euros by 2025.
2.6 billion euros will be invested in the research and development of electric vehicles by 2026
2.6 billion euros will be invested in the research and development of electric vehicles by 2026
The company believes that pure electric trucks are the most advantageous and will give priority to the development in this field. CEO Christian Levin said that assuming that regulatory measures and charging infrastructure are in place, the goal is that 50% of the group's long-distance trucks will become zero emission vehicles by 2030.
The U.S. Department of energy (DOE) has released a new study, which shows that by 2030, as a zero emission vehicle, nearly half of the available medium and heavy trucks will have lower purchase, operation and maintenance costs than vehicles powered by diesel engines. This will be attributed to zero emissions and continuous improvement of fuel technology.
The study found that small battery electric trucks are expected to be cost competitive by 2030, while heavy trucks with a range of less than 500 miles will be cost competitive by 2035.
The US Department of energy said that the funds contained in the infrastructure law will help the battery supply chain in the next five years, which is expected to help the electric vehicle market. The funds are also used to build a charging network in the United States, which will further benefit the market. Doe noted that infrastructure law guidelines have recently been sent to States, including support for truck charging infrastructure.
Knowing that battery technology is not a completely green technology, the US Department of energy recently issued two notices of intent on battery recycling and reuse. Once the service life of electric vehicles is over, it will help to find other uses or better recycle electric drive batteries. Grid storage is a secondary application of the possibility being studied. The funds will also be used for the processing and manufacturing of battery materials to help improve these aspects of the battery life cycle.
The U.S. Department of energy is taking a number of initiatives to help develop cleaner heavy vehicles, such as the supertruck 3 program and the million mile fuel cell truck alliance.
Electric building equipment market will grow by 25.6%
Although many people do not immediately think of the field of off highway equipment when considering electrification, the use of electricity in this market is equally important. The use of power systems in applications such as mining, especially underground mining, where reducing emissions is critical to worker health and safety, is nothing new. But in recent years, it has made greater progress in this field.
Other heavy equipment applications such as construction and agriculture have followed suit. Volvo Construction equipment currently has five compact electric equipment available. Case construction equipment recently launched its latest electric equipment, the cx15 EV small excavator. The editron Department of Danfoss also recently partnered with Doosan to provide motors and other components for the new 16 ton and 30 ton electric excavators.
Case new electric mini excavator
During the CNH industrial capital market day held in February 2022, its case construction equipment brand first demonstrated the new case cx15 EV small excavator. This battery powered machine will become part of the expanded series of small excavators, while also adding the company's electric products.
The cx15 EV is a 2900 pound machine powered by a 16 kilowatt motor and a 21.5 kilowatt hour lithium ion battery. Case indicates that the battery of a small excavator can be charged by using an on-board 110v/220v charger or an external fast charger, which is usually completed within 90 minutes. Electric excavators are designed to power the entire 8-hour workday, depending on the application.
The micro excavator uses a load sensitive hydraulic system to provide smooth and powerful operation. Case said that the system also allows the operator to accurately adjust the machine according to the task at hand.
The cx15 EV also includes retractable rails to help reduce the width of the machine to approximately 31 inches. This enables it to better adapt to narrow spaces and pass through doorways. One of the many advantages of electric machines is that they can be used indoors because they have no emissions and low noise; Enable the cx15 ev to benefit those engaged in indoor construction projects.
"The case cx15 EV will be a powerful, efficient and sustainable complement to our small excavator series, from reducing emissions to reducing noise and reducing lifetime fuel and maintenance costs," said Brad stemper, head of construction equipment product management in North America, case, in the company's press statement on the cx15 ev. "This machine is the next step in our journey of electrification - we are committed to bringing a complementary combination of diesel and electric equipment to the industry to meet the needs of the widest range of applications and operations."
Case launched its first electric machine 580 EV in march2020, also known as project Zeus. The 580 EV is considered to be the first all electric backhoe loader in the industry, and its performance is equivalent to that of diesel powered machines. It is currently working with customers in this area.
Danfoss editron power assisted Doosan electric excavator
Editron of Danfoss (Danfoss power solutions department specializes in hybrid and electric power systems) recently cooperated with Doosan to provide components for two new all electric excavators. Danfoss' products are provided to electric construction equipment (ECE) by electrovision, a subsidiary of Danfoss' partner hydrauvison, which has signed a license agreement with Doosan to modify its equipment for European dealers.
The new 16 ton wheel excavators and 30 ton Crawler excavators use an electric power assembly instead of the diesel engine usually used to power these machines. The electric power system includes several Danfoss components, including the permanent magnet motor of Danfoss editron department, Danfoss controller for controlling the powertrain system, and the display screen in the cab uses Danfoss' plus+1 software platform for operation.
Both excavators include a battery exchange system, which uses an electric power box to power the power transmission system. The power box is also controlled by Danfoss controller and has an independent control system to ensure the best operating conditions of the excavator battery.
Brenno de Zwart, chief executive officer of hydrauvision, said: "wheel excavators are traditionally made with diesel engines, so converting them to zero emission machines requires two main aspects: replacing the diesel engine and the energy supply of the machine." "The use of a replaceable power box for power supply, which can be charged at another location, or even by the machine itself, is groundbreaking for the construction industry. Due to the independent control system, the power box has more applications, including DC charging."
Doosan delivered its first electric excavator at the end of 2021 and is currently operating in the Netherlands and Norway. The company is accepting more orders for excavators and plans to put into production more all electric machines, including 20 30 ton crawler models and 40 16 ton wheel models. ECE also plans to develop 200kW electric tractor and 17T electric wheel loader based on the same electric power box technology as Doosan excavator.
In addition, many cities and countries are aiming at a net zero carbon future and need to change the power supply of various vehicles and machines. In its press release discussing the results of its latest report "electric vehicles in buildings in 2022-2042", IDTechEx pointed out that many construction equipment manufacturers and parts suppliers are aware of the need to transition to alternative power sources.
It can be seen from the products on the current market that compact machines will become the starting point of the industry. This is because they usually require less energy use for lighter duty cycles. The battery size can be smaller; Components and charging requirements are lower than those required for large machines, depending on the application.
IDTechEx pointed out that excavators of more than 10 tons account for about 46% of the total CO2 emissions of construction equipment, so it is very important to find alternative solutions for this type of machine. Electrification of more than 20 tons of machinery will require more than 300 kilowatt hours of energy to maintain an 8-hour workday.
Hybrid technology is seen as an immediate option for large machines. This will allow the use of smaller batteries, and solutions such as energy recovery can be used to assist the power function of the machine. Other solutions are also being studied for large machines, such as battery replacement (usually used for electric underground mining equipment) and cable operation.
The Department also needs to determine how best to charge these machines and bring cost-effectiveness to customers. For smaller machines, IDTechEx believes that a slight increase in the cost of electric power relative to diesel will be modest enough. The reduction in fuel and maintenance costs associated with the motor will provide sufficient savings to offset the additional initial costs of the equipment. At present, larger machines are considered low-cost, and OEM and customers may need regulatory and financial support to help the market absorb them.
Although there are still many challenges to overcome for electric building equipment, the industry sees enough benefits to continue to invest in this technology. IDTechEx predicts that by 2042, the compound annual growth rate of the global electric building equipment market will reach 25.6%, reaching US $105billion.
