Volvo CE unveil Hybrid wheel loader

VOLVO Construction Equipment have unveiled a pre-production prototype of their L220F Hybrid wheel loader, which, they say, will offer more power, better performance and a 10% reduction in fuel consumption when deliveries begin late next year, giving custo

The Volvo L220F Hybrid’s parallel hybrid technology has been developed within the Volvo Group and uses as its platform the company’s proven and reliable D12 engine. At the heart of the hybrid system is an ISG (Integrated Starter Generator), which is fitte

The ISG works in a number of ways: first, because up to 40% of a wheel loader’s time can be spent with the engine idling, the ISG allows the diesel engine to be turned off when the machine is stationary, and then almost instantly restarted by rapidly spin

Secondly, the ISG can overcome the diesel engine’s traditional problem of low torque at low engine speeds by automatically offering a massive electric torque ‘boost’. The ISG’s electric motor offers up to 700Nm of torque from standstill, adding up to 50kW

The combination of these two attributes means that the diesel engine can remain off for long periods when it would otherwise be idling, and that the operator does not need to over-rev the engine to get sufficient torque to work, as peak torque will be off

Although the ISG is the heart of the system, there are other energy-saving innovations in the L220F Hybrid, such an electrically powered climate-control system (rather than being powered directly by the engine). When coupled to the non-hybrid L220F’s alre

The L220F Hybrid will be Volvo’s – and probably the industry’s – first commercially available hybrid wheel loader when deliveries begin in late 2009, and the company believes this first-generation machine will spearhead a sea change in the industry, offer