JCB Anglo-Saxon manufacturer widens its range of electric machines with the release of the compact 403E wheel loader, designed for the agriculture sector, to work especially in stables and greenhouses. The machine is powered by an ion-lithium 20 kWh battery pack, assembled by JCB modules tested in the existing range of the company’s electric vehicles. These batteries, combined with high-efficiency electric motors and optimized traction hydraulic systems, offer top performances in the category, with the loader able to operate for a whole working day or for 4-5 hours of continuous use in a mixed work cycle. A 110V outlet can charge batteries completely in 12 hours whereas a 230V industrial or domestic outlet in 8 hours.
The wheel loader is equipped with two independent electric motors, one, 33.4 kW, for traction and the other, 20 kW, for the hydraulic circuit. The transmission takes place through a drop-box integrated with ZF axles, which can be supplied with open differentials or with differentials that can be locked for the highest traction.
The electric course of JCB goes on with a new wheel loader
Electrification grows by Citroen
They have recently announced the extension of Citroen C5 Aircross range: the SUV by the French brand now is also available with the new Hybrid 136 motors, based on the Hybrid 48V technology and also on a 48V battery that is recharged during some driving phases and a new Ă«-DCS6 gearbox that includes a 21-kW electric motor.
The electric synchronous permanent magnet motor has a maximum torque of 55 Nm, a 48V belt-driven starter motor and a new 6-speed Ă«-DCS6 electrified gearbox with dual clutch and no torque interruption. T
he battery is 48-V lithium ions with an available capacity of 432 Wh. The car is also equipped with a voltage converter, through which part of the electricity produced by the 48-V electric motor is also transformed into 12 V to power the car equipment.
Citroen stated that Hybrid 136 issues 15% of CO2 less than the equivalent non-electrified petrol version.
Repower, the new full electric boat designed for Venice Lagoon
Repower was protagonist at the Arsenal as technical partner of the fourth edition of the Venice Boat Show, with various solutions for sustainable mobility, including the new model of full-electric boat under construction in a Venetian shipyard. Repower was present as well, one of the first native “full electric” boats, cabin evolution of an open boat, rechargeable also by means of recharge solutions devised for e-cars.
The solutions for the electric boating have been joined by other instruments that often represent the standard continuation of this technology on earth, according to a true contemporaneous inter-modality logic. Coherently with this approach, there was E-Lounge, the multifunctional bench of Repower, designed by Antonio Lanzillo&Partners Studio and awarded with the prestigious Gold Compass ADI 2020 prize. “We are pleased to return to the reference meeting, in Italy and not only, for the sustainable boating, with a series of important novelties among which our first full electric native Venetian boat stands out”, stated Fabio Bocchiola, AD Repower Italia. “It is a model of taxi boat that faithfully interprets the identity of these vehicles, creating a very strong synergy between the conventional structure dictated by the characteristics of the lagoon and the new opportunities connected with the electric technology. The question is in fact not only zeroing the environmental impact, with a vehicle that moves without emissions, without vibrations and without noise, but also providing new spaces on board, where in the past a kind of mechanics linked with the thermal motor was present.”
Incoming the electric boat by BMW
BMW has recently launched The Icon, a futuristic 13-metre boat – ready for production – equipped with foils and with two motors, designed to increase batteries’ duration by using less energy with the same speed. The boat exploits a pair of electric 100-kW motors by using 240 kWh of energy supplied by the six batteries of the BMW i3. The autonomy reaches over 50 nautical miles, corresponding to about 92 km. The cruise speed on foils is highlighted as 24 knots approximately, whereas the maximum one is estimated in about 30 knots.
Worth pointing out the Electric range (WLTP) of 488–560 in km and the power consumption of 23.3–20.8 kWh/100 km (combined).
Peter Dengler, head of The Icon project said: “Mobility on water is nearly ten times more energy-intensive than mobility on land. In the meantime, however, professional sailing has come up with solutions for substantially saving energy, paving the way for climate-friendly solutions. The decarbonization of mobility is already taking place in some areas. In other areas, however, there has not yet been innovation, so decarbonization has not even begun. There is currently no equivalent of luxury electric vehicles like the BMW i7 M70 offered on the water.”
The American brand Lucid in European market
The American brand Lucid has announced new versions of the Air intended for Europe. In particular, the customers from Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Norway can order the Pure AWD and Touring variants with double electric motor, with the first deliveries scheduled by the end of the year.
The two new versions are positioned at the base of Air price list, in terms of both power and of equipment. The first has a power of 480 HP, while the second releases 620 HP. Both are equipped with a 92-kWh battery pack that allows an autonomy of 725 km in the WLTP cycle.
The new versions can be recharged up to 250 kW in direct current, instead of 300 kW, and there are also the pluses for the on-board comfort, with broader space.
Lucid range will be enlarged in 2024 with the “base” Pure equipped with a single rear motor.
In mine at zero emissions? Here is the collaboration of ABB and First Mode
ABB has received an order from First Mode, which operates in the ambit of the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by developing creative green-energy solutions for the most challenging applications in the heavy-duty industry.
The supply is composed by 80 ABB Bordline® ESS with lithium-ion batteries, with an overall power of 2.6 megawatts hour (MWh), at the service of a zero-emission truck fleet for mines. In the scenario of the heavy transport electrification, already in 2022 First Mode used the AC/AC converter with capacity in the order of megawatts and yard design competences of ABB to release the first mine truck powered by a hydrogen cell. According to First Mode, replacing a single diesel truck with an electric model, we would achieve a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions corresponding to 2,700 tons yearly, the equivalent of 700 cars’ emissions.
The prototype truck has made its debut in a platin mine in South Africa. Tested under the most demanding operational conditions, it behaved excellently, demonstrating how a combination of batteries and fuel cells may be a valid alternative for the power supply of heavy vehicles.
Krunal Desai, Director of Electrical Engineering of First Mode declared: “The environment of the mine is characterized by a unique mix of high-power charge and discharge, constant operation and notable thermal management problems that are not found in many other applications. ESS technology by ABB is ideal for these applications, thanks to the excellent power performances and the intrinsic safety. The battery increases the maximum available output power for the truck when travelling uphill and allows recovering energy thanks to the regenerative braking in downhill sections.”
The new E-Tourneo Courier is incoming by Ford
Ford has presented E-Tourneo Courier, one of the ten 100% electric vehicles that the automotive company will offer in Europe by 2024, in the direction of exclusively offering zero-emission vehicles within 2035. It is a five-seater multi-activity vehicle with a distinguishing design inspired to SUV that will land in Europe in 2024. The electric car will be manufactured at Craiova, in Romania, starting from the second half of 2024, together with the crossover Puma, which will offer a 100% electric variant by 2024.
The electric motor features 100 kW (136 HP) and the vehicle can be recharged in 11- kW AC stations or up to 100 kW in direct current. The management of the domestic recharge is simplified by an app and by the possibility of planning recharge times, taking the most convenient energy fares into account, when available. The manufacturer reports that a typical domestic night recharge on average takes less than 6 hours to shift from 10 to 100%. With a direct current recharge, it is possible to add 87 km of autonomy in 10 minutes and to increase from 10 to 80% of recharge in less than 35 minutes.
The advantages of electric motors for anti-frost fans: agriculture thanks, too
Established in 2008, Aria is one of the primary Italian companies specialized in the design and manufacturing of mini-wind turbines. Recently, the company has understood that in agriculture the electric motor can prove to be a great ally and provide various advantages in comparison with the endothermal motor and they have so developed the Antifrost 3-22 fan, driven by an electric motor without transmission gears.
Due to its optimized three-blade rotor, directly coupled with a state-of-the-art permanent magnet electric motor, the anti-frost fan assures a high speed of the airflow. Instead of increasing the rotor’s size or using more and more powerful, and then more expensive and polluting, motors, the team of engineers has chosen adopting a green silent technology that, concentrating the airflow, makes it more powerful, reaching a maximum coverage of 5 hectares.
The electric motor and the absence of mechanical transmission gears eliminate the problems caused by months of stop, so reducing maintenance costs, on the contrary relevant in case of endothermal motor.
The electric motor also involves operational advantages: with the conventional technology, machines orient themselves at random and, in many cases, airflows obstruct one another, whereas it is possible to synchronize the rotation of more machines in the same field, in order to keep the orientation of each of them always aligned with all others’.
Volvo Trucks: increasing orders of heavy-duty electric vehicles
After the first 2023-quarter, Volvo Trucks drives the market of electric vehicles both in Europe and in North America. In all, the Swedish manufacturer of trucks has sold almost 5,000 electric trucks in about 40 Countries. At present, its range of electric products is available in new markets such as Asia, Latin America and Africa.
During the first 2023-quarter, 600 electric vehicles overall, weighing 16 tons and more, were registered in Europe: a 4-time increment versus the same 2022-period (134).
“Our commitment to a sustainable transport is clearly giving its fruits. We are willing to work in strict contact with our customers to decarbonize the transport on truck”, stated Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.
Volvo Trucks scored a great increase of orders of new vehicles during the first 2023-quarter. 486 electric trucks overall were ordered, which represents the 141% rise in comparison with the same 2022-period. Most of these orders come from North Europe Countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Sweden.
UK: testing the first Zero-Emission Hydrogen-Electric heavy vehicle
The British startup HVS – Hydrogen Vehicle Systems has recently announced the development of the first heavy-duty vehicle powered by hydrogen and manufactured in the United Kingdom. In these days, they have invited fleet operators to register the expressions of interest to try out its hydrogen electric heavy vehicle (HGV) before buying.
The supported tests will start in the fourth quarter of 2025, once completed the exhaustive pre-production prototyping phase and once heavy vehicles will be ready for the mass-production in the United Kingdom.
The vehicle has been shown in its prototyping configuration: it announces around 600 km of autonomy and refuelling times of about 20 minutes, a datum that would make it rank at the top of its category.
Jawad Khursheed, CEO of HVS said: “In response to the huge levels of interest we have received from fleet operators we are inviting them to register expressions of interest in trialling our Hydrogen Goods Vehicle on the HVS website. “We understand the challenges of introducing disruptive technology such as zero-emission trucks to the logistics sector, so we will be offering extensive trials to fleet operators so they can thoroughly evaluate the technology and understand how it will perform within their fleets before they purchase our vehicles, which will help them achieve their environmental targets.
Hydrogen is the perfect fuel for the haulage industry, offering long range and quick refuelling thanks to stations being easily integrated into existing key transport networks, and we’re keen to help prospective customers learn all about this exciting technology.”