New research by Volvo Construction Equipment shows that the construction equipment industry could reduce its carbon footprint by millions of tons a year and radically cut fuel consumption by a wholesale adoption of hybrid technology. In a recent speech to a group of international business journalists in Sweden, Volvo Construction Equipment's Arvid Rinaldo said that continuing research into diesel-electric hybrids showed benefits in fuel reduction, CO2 emissions and performance significantly larger than previously stated.

He said there is a very real prospect of fuel savings up to 50 percent, significant performance increases and a reduction in CO2 emissions in the order of millions of tons a year.

Volvo CE officially launched a commercially available hybrid wheel loader, the L220F Hybrid offering fuel reductions of 10 percent (depending on application), in the US in March, to positive feedback from customers and stakeholders.

The heart of the hybrid system is an ISG - Integrated Starter Generator coupled to a state-of-the-art battery that has many times the power capacity of a normal lead acid battery. The ISG allows the diesel engine to be turned off when stationary - and then almost instantly restarted by rapidly spinning the engine up to optimum working speed using a burst of energy from the high power battery. As up to 40% of a wheel loader's time can be spent with the engine idling, this will be a major benefit.

The ISG can also overcome diesel engines' traditional problem of low torque at low engine speeds by automatically offering a massive electric torque ‘boost' - as the ISG's electric motor offers torque of up to 700 Nm from standstill. Put in engine power terms - the ISG adds up to 50 kW of instant mechanical energy.

The battery is replenished automatically without reducing productivity, with the ISG acting as a dynamo/alternator.

Rinaldo said the L220F is a true example of “disruptive technology” which could lead to a paradigm shift in the powertrain of modern construction equipment.

Volvo CE will start deliveries of the L220F Hybrid in late 2009. 

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