Electric Actuators Present Emissions and Efficiency Benefits in Mobile Equipment

July 17, 2024

Use of electric actuators in place of hydraulics is gaining momentum in some off-highway equipment applications to help achieve zero-emissions targets and efficiency gains.

Sara Jensen

Related To:

Ewellix

Hydraulic systems play an important part in the functionality of mobile off-highway equipment such as excavators and agricultural tractors. However, as manufacturers of these machines look to reach zero-emissions targets and improve efficiency, many are evaluating the replacement of hydraulics with electric actuator-based systems.

Currently there are only a couple of examples of fully electric machines which use electric actuation in place of hydraulic, one being in the scissor lift market and the other in the compact construction equipment market, said Kirk Martin, Sector Sales Director Mobile Machinery at Ewellix, a Schaeffler Company. He noted most projects taking place in the industry at the moment are on machines under 50 kW (75 hp).

Martin went on to say that applications with just one or two actuators are those that make the most sense to use electric in place of hydraulic. “It gets economically more challenging the more cylinders there are,” he said. Where Ewellix has so far seen electric actuators make the most sense are applications such as scissor lifts and some work trucks which do not have as many actuators as a machine like an excavator.

In this interview with Power & Motion, Martin discusses the shift to electric actuation in mobile off-highway equipment, factors to consider when choosing to replace hydraulics and how he sees this trend progressing in the coming years.

About the Author

Sara Jensen | Executive Editor, Power & Motion

Sara Jensen is executive editor of Power & Motion, directing expanded coverage into the modern fluid power space, as well as mechatronic and smart technologies. She has over 15 years of publishing experience. Prior to Power & Motion she spent 11 years with a trade publication for engineers of heavy-duty equipment, the last 3 of which were as the editor and brand lead. Over the course of her time in the B2B industry, Sara has gained an extensive knowledge of various heavy-duty equipment industries — including construction, agriculture, mining and on-road trucks —along with the systems and market trends which impact them such as fluid power and electronic motion control technologies.

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