Caterpillar has introduced the outcomes of its prototype demonstration undertaking for a battery-powered area elevator with Flory Industries, a specialist within the manufacturing of nut-harvesting gear.
Accomplished in the course of the fall harvest season within the Central Valley area of California, the sector check efficiently confirmed how a 600-volt battery-powered powertrain can ship the efficiency, reliability and sturdiness at the moment supplied on this utility by a traditional 74-horsepower diesel engine whereas decreasing upkeep and working with zero tailpipe emissions.
Supported by Holt of California, the native Cat supplier, the prototype was examined over seven weeks within the almond and walnut orchards in California, with one website being Heinrich Farms, a 1,200-acre crop farm based mostly in Modesto. Right here, the unit operated a whole 10-hour workday on a single cost, loading 422,000 lbs of nuts into trailers all through the check.
To beat the constraints of being off-grid, Heinrich Farms totally recharged the electrified area elevator in a single day throughout non-working hours utilizing the Cat XES60 Compact ESS cell battery vitality storage system, which gives as much as 56.8kWh of capability.
“The electrified area elevator from Flory was dependable and unloaded our harvest as quick as standard gear powered by diesel engines whereas producing far much less noise,” says Jerad Heinrich, orchard supervisor for Heinrich Farms. “It lasted a whole day of labor with out stopping for a recharge, and we’re keen to make use of it once more for our subsequent harvest because the expertise continues to progress.”
The undertaking was the primary presentation of a prototype machine by a third-party OEM utilizing Caterpillar’s battery-powered resolution. Primarily based on the optimistic outcomes of the demonstration, Flory plans to supply pilot items to pick prospects later this yr, with full manufacturing anticipated in 2026.
“The elevator is an ideal utility for electrified machines because it sits idle for many of the workday,” says Tyler Hupp, product improvement supervisor for Flory Industries. “This collaboration was a possibility to point out our dedication to delivering superior applied sciences to our prospects that enhance efficiency sustainably.”
Subject elevators are utilized for harvesting all tree nut crops, which embrace almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, macadamias and pistachios. Used for transferring nuts into trailers or stockpiles, area elevators can course of anyplace from 50,000 as much as 250,000 lbs. of nuts day by day in the course of the fall harvest season.
Sometimes, area elevators powered by diesel engines spend about 80% of their obligation cycles at low idle in between masses, which accounts for about 45% of their whole gasoline consumption. These lengthy intervals of non-productive operation interspersed with the necessity for instantaneous energy make the elevator a great goal for electrification.
By changing the standard engine with an electrified powertrain, the brand new system can get rid of as much as 126 lbs. of carbon emissions per machine within the area every day whereas eliminating diesel gasoline buy, transport and storage prices and decreasing ambient noise for close by employees.
With the help of the XES60, the sector elevator was in a position to work off-grid in the course of the day and be charged in a single day.
Caterpillar supported the undertaking by evaluating system necessities, optimizing system architectures, managing system controls improvement, calibration, and verification and performing remaining system validation.
Engineers built-in the batteries with inverters, motors, digital controls, digital companies and different essential applied sciences in a power-dense resolution that addresses frequent consumer considerations whereas demonstrating the quite a few advantages.
The electrified powertrain featured Caterpillar’s new prototype battery, which makes use of lithium-ion expertise and includes a modular design to spice up efficiency whereas minimizing packaging. Caterpillar is creating a variety of batteries for the off-highway trade.
Holt of California utilized its particular data of Flory’s gear structure and obligation cycles to offer day-to-day engineering, integration and testing help.
Flory engineers coordinated the demonstration undertaking from the Flory Industries’ headquarters and improvement centre in Salida, California, with help from Caterpillar and Holt of California’s groups positioned within the Sacramento space. Flory has specified Cat diesel engines for powered gear all through its fleet of agricultural gear since 2002. The corporate at the moment makes use of US EPA Tier 4 Closing Cat engines for self-propelled harvesters, shuttle vans, elevators and brush shredders.
The battery-powered elevator is designed to be configured with Cat Join, enabling gear house owners and Cat sellers to remotely monitor efficiency throughout operation and charging cycles. This intelligence can then be leveraged to enhance productiveness by optimizing in-use and on-charge processes.
“We’ve gained invaluable insights from working with Flory to use our data of electrification and high-voltage programs to the difficult environments of working California farms,” says Steve Ferguson, senior vp of Caterpillar Industrial Energy Programs. “This undertaking demonstrated how Caterpillar is efficiently aligning with fellow innovators to develop applied sciences that maximize the efficiency and reliability of electrified machines at real-world worksites. Caterpillar can present prospects with entry to the complete ecosystem of parts to insights and the charging infrastructure.”
