CASE has unveiled its new fully electric 580 EV backhoe loader at CONEXPO-CON/AGG and has delivered the first two production models to the US east coast.
Demonstrations of the silent-running 580 EV took place at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 in March, allowing visitors to get their first glimpse of CASE’s formal entry into the electric equipment market.
The 580 EV is also part of the company’s alternative propulsion strategy, according to Hubertus Mulhauser, chief executive of CNH Industrial, parent of CASE Construction Equipment. “The world of diesel will come to an end in 10, 15 or 20 years,” he said. “Diesel will be replaced by different forms of propulsion.”
But there will be no one single alternative mode of propulsion, Mulhauser predicted. As well as electrical propulsion, the adoption of liquified natural gas and compressed gas-powered plant, already being increasingly adopted in the logistics sector, would continue to grow in future, he said.
To that end, last September CASE became a “prime investor” in Nikola, a manufacturer of zero-emission, heavy-duty trucks, which is working on fuel cell technology.
The 580 EV is powered by a 480V, 90-kW/hr lithium-ion battery pack that can be charged by any 220V/three-phase connection. Each charge will support most common eight-hour workdays, claims CASE.
The battery separately powers the drivetrain and hydraulic motors, resulting in hydraulic breakout forces equal to diesel-powered machines and improved performance during simultaneous loader and drivetrain operation.
At low idle a diesel engine has reduced torque and requires time for the engine to ramp up to meet the load demands. Electric motors, on the other hand, have instantaneous torque and peak torque available at every operating speed.
While the 580 EV will be sold at a higher initial price than diesel-powered backhoe loaders, CASE estimates that payback on the investment will be roughly five years. Each 580 EV also comes standard with CASE SiteWatch telematics for additional monitoring and machine performance management.
This article first appeared on our Daily News website.
