It is well documented that construction sites have contributed significantly to emissions in urban areas and that fuel and maintenance prices are significant overall cost drivers in the industrial markets. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there are over two million pieces of construction and mining equipment in the United States, which consume over 6 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year.

So why now is the perfect time for the OEM or the industrial manufacturers to proceed the transformation of electrification? XING Mobility explores a few of the reasons from insights derived from working with a huge range of industrial OEMs:

1- Total cost of ownership of gasoline equipment comes at a huge cost to users

One key driver for the recent uptake of adoption of E-mobility has been driven by the enormous cost of fueling and maintaining heavy duty machinery and equipment. Although there are obvious costs associated with making a switch to electric, break-even timelines and total cost of ownership (TCO) are beginning to favor adoption of electric power in the near term future and this is driving customers to demand all-electric alternatives from suppliers. In a recent report undertaken by researchers at McKinsey and Co, it was observed that TCO for battery powered equipment could already be lower than it is for ICE in two of the four equipment and application types that they investigated, by anything up to 20 percent. To accelerate the ability for manufacturers to respond to these demands, XING Mobility has been delivering modular prototype battery packs that require little upfront tooling and R&D expense, significantly reducing the initial investments required by original equipment manufacturers (OEMS) and heavy duty vehicle makers in the early stages of development.

2- Competition and Urbanization has accelerated demand for increased access and usability

Beyond cost and regulation, increasing urbanization and the increasingly dense nature of modern cities has brought its own challenges to the construction industry. With increasing numbers of projects stationed in city streets, shopping malls, underground railways, industrial parks and residential zones, the need to reduce both fume and noise pollution is critical, and electrification has given some players an edge over their competitors by enabling access to restricted or enclosed spaces. In addition, clean energy has unlocked the ability for some equipment to work underground or at restricted times of the day which can help to significantly reduce the timeline and cost of a given project.

3- Electric Vehicle technology is maturing faster than ever

Given the instant power (or high discharge) requirements of many construction equipment types, as well as the length of the average working day for many of these vehicles, early electric power options have struggled to converge with their gasoline and diesel counterparts. A 21 ton excavator, for example, requires anything up to 250L of fuel for a 10 hour working day to meet the demanding requisites of work sites which would make for a pretty large energy storage solution. However, electric vehicle technology is now catching up fast, and are in some instances exceeding performance and capability parameters of ICEs in the challenging operating conditions of construction sites. In executing electric vehicle conversions in the construction market, XING Mobility’s innovative thermal management technology has advanced to the point of being able to exceed engine power outputs in the same engine space as most ICEs, as well delivering a significant increase in mobility accuracy and improvements in gradient climb.

4-The industry is hungry for automation

One of the many capabilities that electrification has paved the way for is automation and over-the-air technology. In the dramatic rise of artificial intelligence that we’ve seen in recent years, a huge number of industries are looking at ways to utilize such advancements and of these markets, construction and industrial markets are a great example for how this technology can help to improve accuracy, increase worker safety and drive productivity. In addition to automation, many manufacturers, equipment uses, fleet managers and stakeholders are waking up to the benefits of being able to collect, use and sell data in relation to operation usage.

5- Electrification evens the playing field

Another pattern XING Mobility has seen with working with numerous OEMS and electrification partners in heavy-duty industrial markets is the degree to which electrification has opened access for new entries and smaller players to the market. With some bigger construction groups and legacy being less agile, slower-moving, and more concerned about utilizing experts are seeing startup equipment makers and small-medium sized manufacturers enter the market with advanced equipment products for the construction and industrial markets. However, we are also seeing an increasing number of conversion companies and dealer organisations stepping in to fill this gap, with some companies taking advantage of underused or existing fleets and turning these underutilized assets into platforms for electrification.

Our Takeaway

With these drivers in mind, and with the onset of the global pandemic creating new challenges with regard to winning contracts and overcoming, many global players in industrial markets are using this opportunity to take stock of the situation and plan for the future.

If you are looking to take this time to explore new mobility options, please contact our team at sales@xingmobilty.com.