Hybrid technology could break into heavy-duty machines

Finnish researchers at the University of Aalto’s HybLab team have been developing the technology for around six years, culminating in the trial at Helsinki harbour.

While the motor industry has driven the large-scale uptake of hybrid technology by targeting environmentally conscious consumers, sectors such as construction and goods handling have proved more difficult to persuade.

‘They are conservative and typically they are using their machinery in order to get profit — if you want to bring new technology you have to show them that they can really get savings in their process and so the lifetime cost has to be smaller,’ said Prof Jussi Suomela of Aalto who heads the HybLab team.

Heavy-duty machines are operated for long periods of time each day and so can rack up considerable total emissions and fuel consumption.

Traditional machinery uses so-called ‘diesel-mechanical transmission’ to hydraulically power various moving parts. Using lab-based drivetrains to simulate machinery, the research team investigated the feasibility of switching to a diesel-electric transmission, using actuators in place of hydraulic pumps.