TECHNOLOGY Ӏ BATTERY POWER
j machines. Crane operators will not want the extra complication of owning or maintaining the batteries, or ensuring that they are the latest, most efficient model, so battery rental companies will emerge that come to the site, slot in a fresh set of charged batteries whenever required, and take away the flat ones for re-charging. Probably the rental companies rather than the crane operators will actually own the batteries; for the operators it will be pay-as-you-go. That will save them a lot in capital investment, because batteries are expensive. It will be cheaper if they buy the crane without batteries which they rent as required. “No single contractor can do this alone. It needs an infrastructure, and it needs an industry-wide mindset. Developers, manufacturers, contractors all have to be on board. Big hire companies will probably do it first, and then smaller ones will be able to follow. And that is happening now: already Select Plant Hire, one of the biggest in the UK, is using electric crawler cranes and driving that process. “Today, buying our all-electric crawler costs about the same as
future thinking
At the end of April Tadano announced it is working on plans to commercialise the world’s first electric rough terrain crane. Currently in development, the crane will be able to drive to the job site and complete all lifting operations using battery/electric power. Tadano is currently working
with a variety of industry suppliers and partners and targets commercialisation of the new electric rough terrain crane in late 2023. “In the spirit of greater harmony, Tadano contributes to a better global environment as a part
of the surrounding society,” said Toshiaki Ujiie, President, CEO and Representative Director of Tadano. “We have set aggressive goals for lowering both operational and product emissions, and we will partner with industry leading companies to attain those goals. In conjunction with previous product innovations to lower CO2 emissions, we are excited to introduce the first battery/electric rough terrain crane, which will be a key driver for our goal of 35 percent reduction in product CO2 emissions by 2030.”
PV-E Crane
believes battery rental may be future
buying a top-end diesel model of the same capacity; and the running costs are very much cheaper.” Battery technology is advancing all the time. Lithium-ion is the current flavour of the month; but there is still plenty of life in the traditional lead-acid battery or variants upon it.
Most crane operators are well
skilled in looking after a diesel engine; but when they swap to electric there are new skills to learn. “The whole market is moving
to electrification,” says Jacques Valckenaere of Belgium-based GemOne. “But what people forget is that the market is old-fashioned and diesel-thinking and is not nearly so mentally aware of how to look after batteries. So we offer sensors and software that constantly monitors the way the battery is working. Using just five parameters we have algorithms that predict the lifetime of your battery and tell you how to extend it. For a traditional lead-acid battery of course the acid level and the voltage and amperage matter; and temperature in the battery is very important - it will rise when you are charging the battery, and also when you are using it. If you use your battery immediately after a long charging you will damage it: it sounds incredible but a fully- charged battery should be rested a while before being used. So you need to monitor also the hours it
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