For light duty there are small wheel loaders and even small excavators that are pure electric. Now many manufacturers are developing or offering wheel loaders or excavators that are hybrid electric including Komatsu, Volvo and Caterpillar. Care is needed however, because this industry sometimes uses the word hybrid to mean a non-electric hybrid of hydraulic and diesel drive.
At the Industrial Hybrid Vehicle event Cologne November 2016, Huddig reported on its articulated hybrid electric wheel loader with near-wheel motors permitting vectored traction and steering so it does not damage road surfaces and copes better with slippery surfaces. It has 100% software controlled differential, individual control at each wheel, dynamic and static compensation control, electric engine boost, plug-in and a pure electric option for silent, zero pollution use in cities and indoors. This give fuel saving, energy recovery and more power when needed compared to internal combustion engine drive alone. Launch is 2018-9. Listed features are:
PHEV 150kW diesel 80kW Li-ion
Electric motor-generator
100% software controlled differential
Boost & Charge
Mute & Plug -in
Individual control of EMG at all wheels: Vectored steering and thrust
Software differential
Dynamic and static compensation control
Energy recovery
Lower fuel consumption: heavy duty cycles 65-70%, light cycle 80%
Silent mode pure electric 10-20km
Emission free
Plug-in
See IDTechEx reports, Electric Vehicles Will Change the World 2017-2037http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/electric-vehicles-change-the-world-2017-2037-000494.asp, Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles 2017-2027 and Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2017-2027http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/electric-motors-for-electric-vehicles-2017-2027-000506.asp
Source: Huddig
