Environment
SANY electric excavator arrives in Europe with MASSIVE 422 kWh battery
Chinese equipment manufacturer SANY says its new, SY215E 25 ton electric excavator offers all the power and performance of its diesel competitors while dramatically reducing both noise, total cost of ownership, and (of course) emissions … but the number that stands out to me is 422.
As in: the machine’s massive, cobalt-free, 422 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack. (!)
We first covered the SY215E last summer, when a prototype machine arrived in the Netherlands for a demonstration run. The electric excavator garnered significant interest among the more than 200 customers SANY demonstrated it for, resulting in “dozens of pre-sale orders,” according to the company’s official release.
Now, the big equipment asset is ready for customer delivery. That means we not only have some additional marketing copy from the SANY website, but a whole lot of specs, too, making it easier to how this electric excavator stacks up to the Volvo CE and Liebherr earthmovers. From the company’s Dutch website:
The 23-tonne (25 Imperial tons) SY215E electric excavator allows you to work with zero emissions, low noise levels and a lower total cost of ownership thanks to its reduced maintenance costs. Powered by a state-of-the-art lithium iron phosphate (cobalt free) battery, this versatile machine has been designed with a fully flexible, automotive standard (CCS2) charging solution and can achieve a full days work (6 – 8 hrs) off a single charge.
The driver’s comfort is prioritized with a Grammer chair and with spring-loaded lever stands, which reduces the strain during long working days. In addition, the machine is designed to minimize the noise level, with a measured maximum sound volume of only 71 dB in the cab.
The company says all its features and benefits add up to significant fleet savings compared to traditional diesel-powered machines. “With an annual work of 3,000 hours,” the company claims, “a diesel-powered machine can cost around SEK 765,000 ($76,550 US) in fuel, while this electric model only costs around SEK 450,000 ($45,035, as I type this). This means an annual saving of approximately SEK 315,000 ($31,520) in operating costs alone.”
That’s significant. And, across a fleet of dozens of such machines operating for years on end, adds up fast.
Electrek’s Take
If you’re not familiar with SANY, you should be. The company is a major player in the Chinese heavy equipment space, and they have genuine global ambitions with not just their electric off-road equipment assets, but on road trucks as well.
In their own words:
As a global leader in construction engineering, SANY is dedicated to delivering high-quality products and services. In response to the global energy shortage, SANY has long embraced energy-saving and emission reduction initiatives, focusing on electrification. In 2023, SANY introduced over 40 new electric products, achieving sales revenue of $449.4 million USD. SANY remains committed to innovation and supporting the energy transition in Europe with the best products, services, and support.
$449.4 million may not be at the same multibillion level as Caterpillar or Volvo, but it’s certainly not nothing. And it seems like there’s a lot more to come.
That’s SANY, then, but it doesn’t quite cover the insanity of tying up 422 kWh of battery capacity on a single machine, does it? Maybe I’ve been drinking too much of the MOOG and Milwaukee Kool-Aid over the last couple of days, but it seems crazy to have five or six EV’s worth of battery locked into one machine that may very well spend hours (or days) idled on a given job site. Battery swap technology, surely, is the way to go.
That’s my take, anyway. Click those links in the paragraph above to see what I mean, then come back here and let us know what you think of putting those big batteries in a single excavator in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: SANY Europe; via LinkedIn.
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