To address the need to convert tier diesel-powered heavy equipment into environment friendly vehicles, the electronic controls division of Moong Construction have recently launched the ZQuip Modular Battery System as a lower electrification option to transition at lower cost than buying all-new machines.
A concept model shows how the ZQuip electric battery convert a conventional 308 8-ton excavator Caterpillar CAT will turned into a quite, 140 kW, zero emission excavator ready to go to work on a urban projects with strict noise regulations challenges or on environmentally sensitive zero drip job sites.
With this technological development Moog’s modular enables the customers to spec zero-emissions machines with the exact battery capacity they need to get their job done, without paying any extra penny on capability extension of the vehicle.
On that note Chris LaFleur, managing director for ZQuip at Moog said, “The 700V ZQuip Energy Modules are at the core of this innovation. ZQuip modules are interchangeable across any machine we convert regardless of size, type, or manufacturer, and will enable a level of serviceability, runtime, and value that is far greater than current battery solutions.”
To understand the concept Moog’s Kathy Wells presents an example – Imagine a construction site with six ZQuip machines. Two need 800 kWh of battery capacity while four require 400 kWh. The total energy for the day equals 3.2 mWh. In contrast, today’s traditional all-electric vehicles might come equipped with an 800-kWh battery on each of the six machines mentioned above.
The above scenario tells that the fleet owner is paying 50% more to make effective battery capacity than they need. That’s not only about capacity that would go unused, it could be argued that the raw materials that used to make those batteries could be used somewhere else instead of laid unused.
Also if fleet managers get the math wrong? Kathy says that’s fine, too. “(Fleet managers) optimize each machine by installing the appropriate number of ZQuip Energy Modules — and, if necessary, swap them across any machine on the jobsite.”
The below images shows how in reality, that should look like:-
It seems huge, the 140 kWh batteries. But for those who want and need an extra one this could be an unquestionable choice. Also the best part from that is these modular batteries can be swapped not just from excavator to excavator, but from excavator to skid steer, to loader, to dozer etc as shown.
