Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Friday September 07 2018, @01:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the clear-improvement? dept.

Running heavy machinery in a quarry environment is a dirty business, involving massive diesel trucks belching out exhaust fumes. But it doesn't have to be. Volvo Construction Equipment has teamed up with Skanska to viability test its Electric Site concept. The project will run for 10 weeks at the latter's Vikan Kross quarry, where Volvo's electric and autonomous machinery will do their thing in a real production environment.

Each transport stage at the test site will be electrified – "from excavation to primary crushing, and transport to secondary crushing" – though Volvo admits that a small amount of diesel will still be used at the Electric Site, which is located near Gothenburg in Sweden. Skanska's working quarry produces materials for the construction industry, including asphalt and cement, and the test operation will run at the same level as it did before the electric heavy machinery rolled in. But it's expected to reduce carbon emissions by up to 95 percent and, equally as important, shave 25 percent off running costs too.

25% is a big reduction in running costs. If it does materialize, it will serve as an important incentive for industry to eliminate fossil fuels from their operations.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 07 2018, @07:09PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 07 2018, @07:09PM (#731870)

    Those water heaters are ultimately diesel/gasoline/lpg powered in boats/caravans but then propane heater would have been superior at least by 1/(engine efficiency) but more complex than adding heating element and some cable (because vehicles already have batteries) so this is technically battery powered, the best kind of battery powered so I'll allow that.

    Quarry is kinda small and somewhat controlled environment (compared to ocean or highway) So one would expect that cables could be moved in a way similar to electric mover to avoid ruining them over (maybe with help of autonomous battery powered vehicles that would have some water cooling for wound up part of cable)