HYBRID POWERTRAINS
TOP LEFT: Cummins hybrid
PowerDrive for commercial
vehicles
ABOVE: A Cummins BM4.4E
flexible battery module
LEFT: The prototype electric
excavator developed with
Hyundai CE
“THE ELECTRIC MINI EXCAVATOR COMBINES THE
STRENGTHS OF HYUNDAI’S VERSATILE EXCAVATOR
WITH CUMMINS’ LITHIUM-ION BATTERY SOLUTIONS
AND MACHINE INTEGRATION EXPERTISE”
Julie Furber, vice president – electrified power, Cummins
savings, the electric hybrid system may be of
most benefit, because it takes hybrid energy,
stored as current in a battery, and then
returns it back into the engine providing up to
a 20% fuel economy saving. For those who are
looking for shorter periods of boost, they
would benefit from the use of a hydraulic or
kinetic hybrid system, says Prasher, which
takes the hybrid energy that’s been stored
and returns the energy back into the engine
– in this case, the OEM would be able to
reduce the size of the engine by 30%, helping
to reduce package size and installation costs.
Prasher adds that with the Perkins
offerings, “All energy recovery, storage and
return occurs within the engine system.”
LOOKING TO A FULLY ELECTRIC FUTURE
Cummins is making a big commitment to an electric
future with some key acquisitions, technologies and
prototypes. PowerDrive is an advanced and versatile
market-ready hybrid system offering both parallel and
series capabilities primarily designed for the commercial
vehicle market. The PowerDrive replaces the
conventional transmission and automatically switches
between two hybrid and two pure electric modes,
optimizing fuel economy whatever the driving situation.
Cummins is also testing full electric power solutions,
developing an electric mini-excavator prototype in
collaboration with Hyundai Construction Equipment.
Powered by eight Cummins BM4.4E flexible battery
modules (4.4 kWh each), the 3.5-ton excavator is designed
to operate for eight-hours and charge in under three. The
eight BM4.4E modules, connected together in series,
provide a total energy of 35.2 kWh. Mounted in the base of
the excavator, they utilize Li-ion technology to achieve a
higher energy density and proprietary control technology
to maintain the battery state-of-charge for a longer zero
emission range. The modular design allows the system to
be built up and aligned to the duty cycle of the excavator.
“The off-highway market today is primarily interested
in fully electric options, but we are continuing to explore
how various technologies can deliver on the performance
and reliability expectations customers have of Cummins,”
says Julie Furber, vice president of electrified power at
Cummins. “We are working with a number of OEM
partners to collaborate on solutions. Hybrid solutions in
the future may enable further productivity and
electrification of ancillary functions. These products are
still under development.
“The electric mini excavator is an exciting celebration
of the future of electrified construction equipment –
combining the strengths of HCE’s versatile excavator with
Cummins’ lithium ion battery solutions and machine
integration expertise,” continues Furber. “Cummins is
committed to pioneering the future of electrified power.”
iVTInternational.com November 2019 33
/iVTInternational.com
