CONVERTER AND CHARGER FOR 100% ELECTRIC PUBLIC WORKS MINI-EXCAVATOR

PROJET ELEXC (ELECTRIC EXCAVATOR)

This project, called Elexc (electric excavator), is the result of a partnership with a major automotive group and a team of six partners. This collaboration has led to the development of a prototype of a completely electric mini-excavator.

EFS took charge of the Electrical Energy Conversion part and produced two items of equipment.

• E2228 – 3 kW charger for high-voltage battery (420 V- 700 V)
• E2225 – 1.5 kW low-voltage converter (16-30V)

Customer problem

At a time when environmental issues are a key concern, a major automotive group wanted to develop a 100% electric excavator. EFS and a consortium of experts in their fields took part in the development of this: the ELEXC projet (ELectric EXCavator).

EFS response

This innovative project immediately appealed to our company, which is already heavily involved in the design of energy conversion equipment.

The aim of the project is to design and develop a 100% electric mini-excavator, optimized for minimum energy consumption.

The main areas identified for this project are the electrification of actuators and the generation, storage and management of energy. The final stage was integration into the vehicle.
EFS took charge of the Electrical Energy Conversion part.

Advantages of the solution

The results obtained fully met the customer’s expectations.

• The prototype all-electric mini-excavator achieves the same levels of performance as a traditional mini-excavator equipped with a diesel engine: the same levels of effort, speed and useful power.
• In addition to the ‘autonomy of use’ aspect, the cost of electric power and the reduction in the number of maintenance operations mean that the equipment’s operating costs can be significantly reduced