Electric compact wheel loader concept
Volvo Construction Equipment's LX2 electric compact wheel loader delivers zero emissions, lower noise levels, improved efficiency and reduced operational costs.
The company unveiled its latest concept machine – known as the LX2 – at the Volvo Group Innovation Summit on Wednesday, September 12, 2018. The electric compact wheel loader prototype delivers zero emissions, significantly lower noise levels, improved efficiency and reduced operational costs when compared to its conventional counterparts.
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| Volvo Construction Equipment's LX2 electric compact wheel loader delivers zero emissions, lower noise levels, improved efficiency and reduced operational costs. |
The LX2 is a second-generation prototype that is part of a research project and is not commercially available. To make the machine electric, the combustion engine has been replaced with a Li-ion battery. This stores enough electric energy to operate the machine for eight hours in its most common applications, such as light infrastructure construction and landscaping. The LX2 also incorporates two dedicated electric motors, one for the drivetrain and one for the hydraulics. Decoupling the subsystems has led to higher efficiency in both of the systems and the entire machine.
“The LX2 is a revolutionary zero-emissions prototype that offers improved efficiency and lower operational costs, without compromising on machine performance,” says Ulrich Faß, Emerging Technologies manager. “It incorporates the latest advanced chemistry battery technology. As it’s electric, no particulate matter, nitrogen oxide or carbon dioxide are released into the environment. This, together with the fact that it has extremely low noise levels, makes it ideal for use in cities and densely populated areas, as it can be used without disturbing people. This is the same for the EX2 100-percent electric compact excavator, therefore the machines would be ideally suited to working alongside each other.”
Like the LX2, the EX2 is also part of a research project and is not commercially available. The prototype machine delivers zero emissions, 10 times higher efficiency, 10 times lower noise levels and reduced total cost of ownership compared to its conventional counterparts.
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