As equipment makers explore hybrid electric solutions, Zquip, part of Moog Construction, has shown how two diesel-powered excavators can become zero-emissions machines with swappable energy modules.
Moog took two Case excavators, a wheeled unit and a tracked unit, removed the diesel engines, and installed a modular conversion kit with one, two, or three or more energy modules.
Because the excavators can operate as battery-powered or hybrid diesel depending on job site needs and grid availability—and the modules can be fast-charged and changed out—there are no concerns about battery range, Zquip says.
(The video below shows an energy module being swapped out.)
“We’re focused on giving OEMs, dealers, and vehicle owners a choice in running the type of vehicle they want,” said Rob Bauer, engineering manager for Zquip. “Zquip’s value, in part, is enabling the construction industry to use any type of power—electric, diesel, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen ICE, or whatever the future holds.”
The company’s Netherlands facility converted a Case CX210 and WX155 from diesel-hydraulic to electric-hydraulic powered versions and showed the pair at Bauma. They are designated CX210ZQ and WX155ZQ.
From a distance, the modifications leave the excavator body looking a little like a pickup truck bed.
“We can convert virtually any make or model of diesel-hydraulic construction vehicle in the world,” said Holger Pietzsch, director of business development for Zquip. “Whether you’re an OEM, dealer, or construction company owner, these concept vehicles prove off-highway machines can run on swappable energy modules not unlike the way consumers power a variety of rechargeable hand tools.”
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Pietzsch, a veteran of Caterpillar, is chairman of the Digital Taskforce for the Committee for European Construction Equipment, where he represents the interests of European equipment manufacturers.
The Zquip-modified Case models are closer to market than one would think, at least in Europe, than other prototypes. You may have to speak Dutch to order one.
Case dealer Schmidt Bouwmachines has begun taking orders from customers for Zquip machines in the Netherlands. Netherlands-based construction firm Dunnewind Groep already has the WX155ZQ wheeled excavator that was displayed at Bauma.
“We’ve successfully gone from concept to prototype and are now delivering these units to customers,” said Chris LaFleur, managing director of Zquip. “There is still plenty of additional work to be done, though, but we’ve solved the engineering challenges to create an entirely new world of construction, independent of which way future power needs take the industry.”
Case and Zquip parent Moog previously worked together on the Case 580EV backhoe loader. It uses Moog’s TerraTech platform for electric motion control. The project started in 2019; the 580EV was released for sale in North America last year.
