XCMG shows electric heavy equipment with BYD battery swap tech ahead of CES
Electric equipment from XCMG can now be ordered with interchangeable battery swap tech, enabling heavy trucks and construction equipment to swap out their BYD-developed, 400 kWh battery packs in just three minutes, and top-off as quickly as diesel.
Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co., Ltd. (XCMG, for short) may not be a household name here in the US, but the Chinese multinational is the third largest manufacturer of construction machinery in the world – and, with the launch of a full line of heavy equipment featuring battery-swap technology, they’re making a case for becoming the number 1 HDEV manufacturer sooner than later.
And we’re not just talking about off-highway and heavy equipment – the XCMG’s swappable BYD batteries are making their way to on-road trucks as well … but we’ll get to that.
XCMG ZNK95 electric autonomous haul truck
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at last month’s Bauma China show, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck. Known as the ZNK95 (above), the truck features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. That’s too bad, too, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience a dedicated permanent magnet synchronous electric drive system capable of putting out 800 kW (1070 hp) and 22,000 Nm (16,200 lb-ft) of torque?
But autonomous solutions aren’t about hp and torque – they’re about keeping operators out of extreme and dangerouns environments. To that end, XCMG says its new HDEVs are fully capable of operating in high-altitude, extremely cold environments with temperatures as low as -40°C (a temp. that most diesels wouldn’t be able to start at, let alone run).
Even in those extreme climates, the XCMG gets the job done with an autonomous driving system that integrates a number of multiple cutting-edge technologies that combine environmental perception, decision-making and planning, vehicle control, and communication into a single dashboard that can be monitored by the fleet manager.
The system can even diagnose faults on individual vehicles and bring them back to service before they break down in the field – a huge potential problem if a truck or dozer gets caught underground!
The ZNK95 has already been deployed at a large, open-pit mine in Inner-Mongolia, China, that has adopted a comprehensive unmanned and electrified construction solution from XCMG Machinery for its latest “green” mining operation. The company says the mine will emit 149,000 fewer tons of harmful carbon emissions than it would with diesel haul trucks annually by the time its full order of ZNK95s is delivered in 2026.
But wait, there’s more …
If you needed a reminder that China is light-years ahead of the US when it comes to electrification tech (and, yes, I know light-years measure distance and not time – grow up), you should know that XCMG’s swappable battery tech, which features 400 kWh packs using BYD blade-style battery cells packed at a facility that’s run as a JV between XCMG and BYD, is such a non-event in a country that’s seen millions of swaps that it didn’t even merit a press release at Bauma.
The trucks were just shown, and even that was after more than 1500 of the battery-swap capable MDEVs (XCMG’s new XG2 EX630S cabovers) was already delivered to customers in China and put into service.
In fact, the only reason I know about it at all was because I follow Etrucks New Zealand, an XCMG dealer, on LinkedIn, and he was talking it up.
“XCMG are by far the dominant EV exhibitor at Bauma Shanghai. Here a truck crane solution to swap construction machine batteries,” said Ross Linton, owner and President of Etrucks New Zealand. “Here a truck crane solution to swap construction machine batteries.”
XCMG battery swap crane
I’ll be at CES next week, where I’m sure Caterpillar will be playing up its 100th anniversary, John Deere will once again show off a new, updated remote/autonomous solution, and Volvo will reveal another new addition to its HDEV line-up. None of them are likely to show up with a practical battery-swap EV solution that’s ready to deploy, today.
Instead, they’re all playing catch up – if they’re aware of XCMG at all.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Etrucks New Zealand, International Mining, USS.
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China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has unveiled its latest battery cell technologies, which charge as quickly as filling up a gas tank while potentially lowering costs without compromise.
CATL has quickly become the world’s largest battery manufacturer by a wide margin. It is one of, if not the biggest, force for advancing electric transportation.
A big part of CATL’s success is due to its advancements in lithium-iron phosphate battery cells, also known as LFP. LFP cells are cheaper than nickel-rich batteries, but they used to have much lower energy density.
The Chinese battery manufacturers managed to close the gap somewhat while maintaining lower costs, resulting in LFP cells becoming popular for entry-level EVs.
Now, CATL is looking to do the same with sodium-ion batteries.
Like LFP cells, sodium-ion battery cells have the potential to be cheaper than more common Li-ion cells, but they also offer potential for superior performance, particularly in terms of faster charging and longer lifecycles.
CATL has unveiled today Naxtra, its new sodium-ion battery cells, and it claimed some truly impressive specs.
The new cell reportedly achieves an energy density of 175 Wh per kg (385 Wh per lb), on par with the higher-end of LFP battery cells.
The new cells also offer potential for significant safety improvements.
CATL shared several intense stress tests, including drilling into a cell and even cutting it in half without any thermal event:
The next-gen sodium cells could help further lower the cost of electric vehicles without compromising performance, and while increasing safety.
On top of the new Naxtra cell, CATL has also unveiled its next-gen Shenxing LFP battery cells.
Its charge rate is truly impressive. CATL shared several examples of cars charging at around 1,000 kW and maintaining over 500 kW at over 50% state of charge:
The new cell is being described as capable of adding 300 miles (482 km) of range in about 5 minutes – depending on the EV model.
That’s virtually as quick as filling up a tank of gas.
CATL says that the Shenxing will be in 67 electric vehicle models by the end of the year.
The next-gen cell was unveiled after BYD, CATL’s biggest competitor, also unveiled its latest technology, capable of charging electric vehicles at extremely high speeds.
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New York State has announced an extra $30 million for point-of-sale rebates to lease or buy more than 60 new EV models.
The rebates are available to consumers through New York’s Drive Clean Rebate program, which offers a point-of-sale rebate off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of an EV at participating car dealerships in New York State.
The rebate is available in all 62 counties, with the highest rebate of $2,000 available for EVs with a greater-than-200-mile range. (For a 40- to 199-mile range, the rebate is $1,000.) The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) runs the program.
NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Converting to EVs reduces the total cost of vehicle ownership through lower fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, and NYSERDA is proud to help provide New Yorkers with more purchasing power through these rebates.”
The Drive Clean Rebate program has issued over 190,000 rebates to consumers since 2017, contributing to the more than 280,000 EVs on the road in New York State.
NYSERDA also boosted its EV charging incentives. Through the Charge Ready NY 2.0 program, the state is boosting the cash available for Level 2 charger installations at apartment buildings, workplaces, and hotels from $2,000 to $3,000 per port. And if the chargers go into disadvantaged communities, that amount jumps to $4,000 per port.
New York has racked up over 17,000 public EV chargers, making it second only to California for charger count. On top of that, there are more than 4,000 semi-public stations tucked into workplaces and multifamily buildings across the state.
Read more: New York awards $60M to Revel to install 267 DC fast chargers
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LTL carrier ArcBest Freight (ABF) announced plans to add five new Orange EV electric terminal tractors to its existing ZEV fleet, bringing its total deployment of these battery electric HDEVs to 14 … with even more to come.
LTL stands for “Less than Truck Load,” and basically means that, since whatever you’re shipping won’t take up a full container, you can share the costs of shipping with other customers with goods going the same way. You save a little more money and the shipper makes a little more money, making it a rare win-win scenario in the shipping space. And that’s important, because LTL containers amount to a massive 15% of total US shipping.
ABF has been putting Orange EV yard dogs to work in their LTL traffic terminals since their initial deployment of four trucks in June 2022. The company added five more a few years later, and just purchased five more — further underscoring their confidence in the benefits of transitioning their fleet to electric power.
“The Orange EV terminal trucks meet our operational requirements and expectations for safe, reliable, and affordable service and performance,” explains Matthew Godfrey, ABF Freight president. “We’re committed to responsible environmental management, and our investment in EVs aligns with our continuous efforts to enhance efficiency while maintaining exceptional service standards.”
ABF joins other large logistics companies like YMX and DHL in deploying the Orange EV terminal trucks, which have logged hundreds of thousands of hours of service for their customers.
Electrek’s Take
Over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, we had a chance to talk to Orange EV founder Kurt Neutgens ahead of last year’s ACT Expo for clean trucking. On the show (embedded, above), Kurt explained how his experience at Ford helped inform his design ideology, and that the Orange EV was designed to be cost competitive with diesel options, even without subsidies.
Give it a listen, then let us know what you think of the big yard dogs in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Orange EV; via PR Newswire.
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