XCMG looks to electric and hydrogen power

The XC968-EV is an electric wheeled loader

China-based XCMG says that it is continuing to invest in the development of renewable energies, such as electric, hydrogen, and solar, in its diverse range of construction equipment products.

The OEM has deployed a batch of hydrogen-powered construction machines such as the world’s first and 6-tonnage hydrogen-powered electric loader (XC968-FCEV). It is being used in the coal mines in Shanxi, China, to improve the environmentally friendly practice of green mining.

The XC968-FCEV was developed on the basis of XCMG’s third-generation pure electric loader technology and adopted advanced hydrogen fuel stack and high-rate battery, which were suitable for loading, unloading, and transshipment of bulk materials such as mines, coal mines, and steel, with real zero emission and pollution.

The machine uses high-power hydrogen fuel stacks and high-rate batteries to meet the high load performance requirements. A hydrogen storage system with a capacity of over 1000 liters can achieve an operating range of up to ten hours under normal conditions.

The company’s electric loaders, XC968-EV, were recently delivered to Turkey. The products were customized with 3.5 cubic meters of enlarged bucket and a 350kW·h super-capacity battery according to the users’ needs, with stronger power, higher efficiency, zero emission, and no pollution.

With the support of XCMG’s three-motor technology, the walking system and hydraulic system adopted motor control, not only achieving pure electricity and zero emissions, but also saving maintenance costs on the air filter, gearbox, and diesel filter. The main marketing model has been upgraded to the XC968-EV from XC958-EV, which is also the world’s first gearbox-less pure electric loader that has been exported to Brazil. 

Another alternative to diesel is natural gas. XCMG has natural gas powered loaders equipped with a dedicated LNG engine, which has high combustion efficiency without polluting. LNG storage uses specialized gas cylinders from well-known manufacturers in the industry to effectively prevent the safety hazards of overfilling.