High-power, high-voltage charging systems for mid & large mobile-machinery electrification
High-power applications remain the “final frontier” for electrifying non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) because of the application power demand that batteries have traditionally struggled to meet and insufficient charging infrastructure.
However, environmental regulations and government efforts to reach net-zero emissions drive progress alongside the opportunity to enter an emerging market. In this article, we’ll look at these drivers and the remaining challenges—primarily, meeting the rigors of high-power NRMM applications, charging infrastructure, and charger technology.
Government efforts to achieve net-zero emissions and mobile machinery
Recent projections demonstrated the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters aren’t aligned with their stated goals to cap global warming at 1.50C (2.70F). As a result, participants during the UN’s 2022 Climate Change Conference—COP27—were charged with taking “bold and immediate action” to realign with that ambitious target.
Per Climate Watch: 93 countries have made net-zero emissions pledges as either passed laws, policy documents, or political statements. Those pledges would eliminate roughly 80% of global GHG emissions if successful. And doing so will require implementing increasingly strict environmental regulations.
However, environmental regulations for NRMM are nothing new.
For example, the final phase of the US’ Tier 4 emissions standards for non-road diesel engines up to 560 kW took effect in 2015. Likewise, the final phases of Canada matching the US standards, the EU’s Stage V, and China’s Stage IV for equivalent engines took effect in 2012, 2020, and 2022, respectively.
Entering the electric-drive era
What’s changed is the emphasis on electric drive NRMM. This is because meeting stated net-zero goals simply isn’t possible via continued reliance on internal combustion engines (ICEs) and emphasizing their emissions reduction technologies (e.g., exhaust gas re-circulation).
Instead, it requires transitioning as many ICE-powered vehicles, machines, and equipment as possible to the only two true net-zero power sources: electricity (or batteries) and hydrogen (e.g., fuel cell vehicles).
At first, electrification efforts targeted low-power machinery and equipment due to their comparably easier transitions. But continual innovation in electric drive, battery, and charging technology alongside government investment (e.g., charging infrastructure, subsidies) now enables larger NRMM to start following suit.
This opens up possibilities for OEMs and commercial entities operating mid and high-power NRMM, to pursue electrification. And it’s coming from both governments aiming to achieve their pledges and competitors seeking to claim market share within this emerging market.
Requirements for mid to high-powered mobile machinery electrification
Mid and high-powered NRMM is most commonly seen in industries such as construction, agriculture, and large-scale outdoor power equipment (OPE). Traditionally, power and charging capacity, output, availability, and other requirements have been too significant or too costly to meet via batteries—or the size, weight, and amount of battery packs necessary would cause adverse consequences (e.g., over-compacting soil).
Moreover, these machines (e.g., dozers, loaders, combines, and full-size tractors) typically prioritize purpose-built engineering over efficiency. And their specialization results in various types of large NRMM often operating under widely different parameters.
Some only require use intermittently or for a few hours, while others need to maintain power over periods extending well beyond standard eight-hour shifts (e.g., sunrise to sundown for farming). Many work locations are far away from sufficient and reliable electric power sources (e.g., fields, new road construction), while others might be in urban areas where that’s a non-issue.
Regardless, some characteristics most high-power NRMM share are:
- Limited space for powertrains
- Low-speed but demanding torque requirements necessitating high peak power
- Work conditions that place extreme stress on systems and components (e.g., shock, vibration, temperature)
Therefore, high-power NRMM hasn’t been a major focus for electrification efforts until recently.
But as low and mid-power machinery becomes increasingly electrified, governments, OEMs, operators, and fleet managers will look more and more for solutions facilitating the same transition for larger and more powerful NRMM.
Charging infrastructure requirements
Innovations such as continued lithium and new battery chemistry developments, and hydrogen fuel cells are beginning to enable zero-emissions operation of mid and high-powered NRMM. The biggest remaining challenge pertains to rechargeability by available power sources.
To help address both, governments have begun making substantial investments in charging infrastructure, such as:
- United States – $5 billion as part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program
- Canada – $680 million under the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP)
- China – The charging infrastructure market is valued at $3.31 billion, with an expected CAGR of nearly 45%.
Although a significant portion of these investments will target public charging for on-road electric vehicles (EVs), similar technology will be needed for commercial and industrial settings. More importantly, the fast charging capabilities emerging for EVs will be essential for enabling high-power electric NRMM due to minimal space for energy storage and high peak power output requirements.
Alternative solutions for charging high-power NRMM in remote locations
Technological developments for providing power sources capable of recharging high-power, electric NRMM in locations away from utility power supply remain ongoing. However, there are several solutions for recharging low and mid-power NRMM that could scale in output and capacity to meet the larger machines’ demands:
- Self-generating power – The rapid adoption of solar, wind, and other power-generating technologies has seen farms and other remote locations begin implementing microgrid systems.
- Portable sources – Applying the same concept as power banks used for consumer use at a significantly larger scale has led to solutions such as Power Edison’s mobile battery energy storage systems, which can be brought in at worksites on trailers, virtually anywhere, to supply 3 MW to 12 MWh.
- Generators and alternative fuels – Advancements in alternative fuel technology could see the adoption of on-site generators running on stocks such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as diesel or gas substitutes—as recommended in a guide for zero-emissions NRMM use in London, UK.
But these innovations are merely the start. As OEMs and other stakeholders continue pursuing the electrification of high-power NRMM in the coming years, their developments and emerging technologies should accelerate rapidly.
Charger requirements for mid to high-power mobile machinery
The charging system requirements OEMs must meet to begin developing high-power NRMM will be demanding. At a minimum, specifications should meet:
- Voltage – 350-850 Vdc
- On-board AC charging –11-50kW
- Off-board DC charging – 20-350kW (fast charging)
- Power source connection – AC, DC, and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) (e.g., SAE J1772, IEC 61851) support
Chargers will also need to comply with relevant regulations and international standards, such as North American and European limitations on electromagnetic interference and compatibility.
OEMs will need to ensure that their battery, charging, and other component partners can meet these requirements but also maintain quality when production scales.
Delta-Q: Leveraging opportunities for mid and high-power NRMM
Significant developments for high-power electric NRMM remain in development, but innovation progresses rapidly. And given the growing success of low and mid-power applications, it’s merely a matter of time before machinery that once seemed inseparable from ICE-base powertrains runs on electric drive instead.
Although there may be a market gap for high-power electric NRMM chargers for now, that’s more the result of the small market share these machines currently have and the lack of charging infrastructure to support them. The charger capabilities remain achievable with the right partners—and more and more charging infrastructure is being deployed every day. As a premier battery charger design, development, and manufacturing company, Delta-Q Technologies is your ideal partner for the transition toward electrification.
Sources:
New York Times. The World Is Falling Short of Its Climate Goals. Four Big Emitters Show Why. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/climate/cop27-emissions-country-compare.html
COP27. Vision & Mission. https://cop27.eg/#/vision#goals
Climate Watch. Net-Zero Tracker. https://www.climatewatchdata.org/net-zero-tracker
DieselNet. United States: Nonroad Diesel Engines. https://dieselnet.com/standards/us/nonroad.php
DieselNet. Canada: Off-Road Engines. https://dieselnet.com/standards/ca/nonroad.php
DieselNet. EU: Nonroad Engines.https://dieselnet.com/standards/eu/nonroad.php
DieselNet. China: Nonroad Engines.https://dieselnet.com/standards/cn/nonroad.php
Energies. Overview of Powertrain Electrification and Future Scenarios for Non-Road Mobile Machinery. https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/5/1184
US DOT. President Biden, USDOT and USDOE Announce $5 Billion over Five Years for National EV Charging Network, Made Possible by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/president-biden-usdot-and-usdoe-announce-5-billion-over-five-years-national-ev-charging
Natural Resources Canada. Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program. https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/zero-emission-vehicle-infrastructure-program/21876
Mordor Intelligence. China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028). https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/china-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure
City of London. Guide to low emission and alternative power sources and technologies for Non-Road Mobile Machinery in Greater London. https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/assets/Services-Environment/Non-road-mobile-machinery-guide-2021.pdf
