They are expensive. If there is one thing that is known about electric machines in the market, it is that. Staad is therefore working on its own electric machines that use energy more efficiently and that should soon result in a more interesting cost price per operating hour. A multifunctional battery also helps with that.
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Converting diesel machines to electric versions is going well at Staad. Since the company started in 2020, many heavy crawler excavators and wheel loaders have been electrified. The DX165W mobile excavator is still the best-seller in the range, with more than 135 units in the field. Something that no other manufacturer can match the relatively small Brabant player. With production on track, that conversion market will continue.
"We know what we can optimize to make the machines more economical"
- Pieter Staadegaard, Managing Director Staad
Yet Staad is not sitting still, because now that the company has built up so much experience with electric machines, there are also things that can be improved. Pieter Staadegaard: “You can get so much more efficiency out of an electric machine if you can build it the right way. The conversion as we are doing now is going well, but we are bound to the existing design of the machine. We are allowed to remove the diesel engine and install an electric motor, but the manufacturer has to keep us away from the hydraulic system and the drive, for example.”
This has to be more efficient, at the same time to solve a second challenge: charging. To recharge an electric machine at night, a 64A power connection is quickly needed, extra exchange batteries or a buffer battery. “A heavy power connection is difficult to find, which makes charging for our customers a real limitation in practice.”
According to Staad, the key to solving this and reducing the costs per operating hour is to reduce the energy consumption of the electrical machines. This allows the battery to be smaller and charging with a standard 32A power connection is possible. “In recent years, we have monitored a number of machines and measured them thoroughly, which now provides precise insight into where the energy consumption is. So we know what we can optimize to make the machines more economical.”
This led to surprising insights but at the same time presented Staade with a dilemma, Staadegaard explains. “In the conversion process, you have to change so many things that are so deeply embedded in the machine that you wonder; if we are going to adjust all this, what will be left of that diesel machine after the conversion? Can we actually still do something with the existing base?”
The answer was a clear 'no'. "If you really want to do it right, you have to start with a blank sheet of paper and design a machine that focuses on both battery and efficiency. That's what we did when developing our Staad 17W , our first fully in-house electric machine," explains Staadegaard, who not only places great emphasis on the technology but also on the operator. That's why there was a clear requirement; the feeling of the controls must not change for the operator and the visibility must be better. "An operator wants direct all-round visibility. That's the safest. The operator sees the excavator, and the excavator also sees that the operator has seen him. That's why we have larger mirrors, more glass in the cabin and the more compact Powerbox 300 battery is recessed into the frame. "The new 17W is even lower than the bonnet of diesel machines in this class. In addition, there is a 360-degree camera system with AI function that can distinguish people from objects. A luxurious infotainment system with a 12-inch screen for music, streaming or navigation completes the picture.”
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Staad had of course already thought about how the machine could become more electrically efficient. In short; there will be a direct electric drive that is many times more energy-efficient and can also regenerate energy when braking; just like an electric car. Everything is also much better coordinated; the electric motor, the pump, the cooling and the piping with fewer bends and resistance. Result: with a 25% smaller battery, the machine can still work for more than a day.
This battery is of the very latest generation. “This is still an expensive component, so customers want to use it as well as possible. We regularly get this question from practice; can we also use the battery separately or rent it out when the machine is not working? For example, during the weekend or the construction holidays.”
This is already possible, but it does require the Fusion Fieldmaster add-on to convert the current into alternating current. With the new Powerbox 300 battery, this is integrated into one compact unit. This 300 kWu battery therefore has 230V and 400V AC connections as standard. Is the excavator stationary during the weekend? Then the owner can rent out this interchangeable battery separately, for example to a festival in the area. “Our new battery has been given a bi-directional function. That makes it much more versatile.” Of course, the battery on the new 17W can also be quickly replaced, within five minutes. What is completely new is that the machine can also run on a fixed connection by connecting it to the electricity grid via the CCS2 connection on the undercarriage. This allows you to run 24/7, if the situation permits.
In technical terms, the newcomer is groundbreaking. However, there is much more development hidden in the self-built 17W. Staad has reinvented the mobile excavator. “Actually, mobile machines emerged from the crawler excavators in the 1970s,” Staadegaard reflects. “The boom is made to dig a hole. But most of the time, a mobile excavator these days is not digging a hole. It is cleaning, leveling, and in this class there is almost always a tiltrotator to drive stuff in. It has really become a tool carrier. A lot of work is now on the ground level, or just below it. That is why we have built a new boom with more power in that area. With the same reach and at the same time more lifting power. You can reach a bit higher and lift closer to the machine, so you are stronger and much more compact. Compared to a standard 14-ton mobile excavator, we have a 74-centimeter more compact swing radius. That is enormous. And much more power from the ground level,” says Staadegaard enthusiastically.
With the super complete 17W Staad focuses on demanding users such as in the Netherlands and Scandinavia. "It comes standard with 21 LED work lights and luxury joysticks with which you can operate everything." That also makes the difference with new entrants in the market who come with electric machines from the factory. Although, in the end it is not just about the technology and that continuous innovation. "The service ultimately determines whether the customer also buys a second electric machine from us. My grandfather started selling machines and providing aftercare in 1930. And actually that is still our strength", concludes Staadegaard.
Article created in collaboration with BouwmachinesNL
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