Caterpillar showcased its latest innovation in electric equipment at CES 2024, unveiling an extensive ecosystem of cutting-edge machinery. This new electric equipment ecosystem promises to revolutionize the industry with its advanced technology and sustainability. The introduction of these electric-powered solutions demonstrates Caterpillar's commitment to addressing the evolving needs of its customers while also contributing to a greener and more efficient future. This significant development further solidifies Caterpillar's position as a leader in the construction and mining equipment sector.
Caterpillar turned the heads of CES attendees with a monstrous, all-electric underground mining loader – but the real game-changer wasn’t the big mining rig, or even the electric excavator. Instead, it was Cat’s cutting-edge energy management systems to keep electric equipment charged up and ready to work.
“We are thrilled to return to CES to showcase our advancements in energy solutions. This event is renowned as the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators, making it the ideal place for us to demonstrate our leadership in power systems and integrated service solutions, which help our customers in the energy transition,” said Rod Shurman, senior vice president of Caterpillar’s Electrification + Energy Solutions Division.
Energy Solutions
To that end, Caterpillar showcased a number of on-site generators capable of generating electric power to store in its battery energy storage system (BESS). Caterpillar says its BESS is designed for rapid plug-and-play installation and integration, compatible with any combination of diesel, natural gas, or renewable energy sources.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging
Granted, fuel-agnostic energy storage is something most BESS products are capable of – but the concept of using on-site batteries for EV charging is still new enough that it might still be news to Cat’s customers. In fairness, Cat’s big BESS offers a comprehensive array of charging ports, making it compatible with almost any EV, charging it in about 20-40 minutes.
DC Chargers
Caterpillar also showcased several smaller DC chargers designed to be compact enough for a single worker to wheel up to a piece of electric equipment and charge it with electrons in about three hours.
Electric Equipment
Speaking of electric equipment, Caterpillar also brought out an electric drive mini excavator fitted with a jackhammer implement meant to show fleet buyers that their legacy Cat accessories would still work once they made the transition to electric – but note: Cat’s excavator isn’t fully electric.
Comparison with Other Electric Equipment Concepts
Unlike the fully-electric equipment concepts shown by Doosan Bobcat and HD Hyundai, which use electric actuators and gears to move their boom arms, the Cat 301.9 uses an electric motor to power its wheels and accessories, but still relies on conventional hydraulic oils to manipulate its arm – and that can be a problem in cold climates.
Advantages of Hydraulic Operation
“The electric motors don’t make as much heat as the diesels,” explained “Greg,” one the Caterpillar SMEs on the ground at CES2024. “So it can take a long time to warm up the hydraulics.”
This might seem like a rookie mistake, but Greg clarified, “These are still really new. The first two or three I drove were converted diesel units. This is one of the first ones that was built electric from the start.”
To Caterpillar’s credit, sticking to hydraulic operation will make it easier for operators familiar with Cats to switch to electric. The fact that the hydraulic accessories fleet operators already own will work with the new electric 301.9 also helps lower the EV’s barrier to entry.
Mini Excavator Specifications
The 301.9 mini excavator was displayed alongside its 48 volt on-board battery pack, which offers a total capacity of 32 kWh and delivers 3 hours’ of continuous runtime – which is just enough to handle a full working shift above ground.
Below ground, you’ll want something a little bigger.
Underground Loader - Cat R1700 XE LHD
The crown jewel of Caterpillar’s CES exhibit this year was the massive Cat R1700 XE LHD underground loader. The R1700 XE LHD offers a whopping 16.5-ton payload and a top speed just over 11 mph – a nightmare-fast speed in the tight confines of a dark underground mine, the loader’s natural habitat.
The good news is that you won’t have your lungs getting choked out by diesel fumes while you try to escape from the big Cat, because this is the only underground loader in the industry powered by onboard battery that can charge in less than 20 minutes when it’s hooked up to two of the big Cat MEC500 chargers we talked about at the beginning of this article.
Future Prospects
This is the first of this type of Cat battery packs, which the company claims are a modular design that will power future electric equipment models, as well as with factory integrated telematics and a structure durable to endure the challenges of the job site.
