E-Mobility Engineering 017 l ECE Doosan electric excavators dossier l In Conversation: Matt Faulks l Battery testing focus l Battery Show North America 2022 report l Ariel Hipercar digest l Cathode materials insight l Thermal management focus

to slow-charge overnight have in fact been replenished. More fundamentally, they want to track the locations of their machines, error codes, stationary time spent charging, current consumed and other work efficiency-related metrics. We’ve therefore also installed GPS and 4G antennas atop the cabins to make all that possible.” The connectivity system is also being developed for bidirectional comms, so that owners of the electric excavators will in future receive texts or e-mails alerting them of matters such as safety- related issues, charging progress updates and energy efficiency reports. Future construction EVs In addition to continued development and improvement of the electric DX165W and DX300LC, ECE is now working on electrifying other construction vehicles. “One of these is a tractor, and the first prototype is now in its fifth week of trials for commercial work in the field,” Van Hal says. “We’re using the same components and drivetrain engineering philosophy as in the Doosans, and we expect to continue using them as we take the tractor from testing through to production.” The tractor is likely to be used for transporting goods and materials in bulk to, from or across construction sites, including the aforementioned trailer for battery swapping. “We’re also working on electrifying a wheel loader. Converting a loader is more complex, but construction companies need to move earth over greater distances than is possible with the DX165W or DX300LC,” Van Hal says. “Because of all these different heavy- duty jobs with different machinery requirements, customers need a lot more than what is available commercially right now. It’s going to take electrifying the full ecosystem of construction vehicles to decarbonise building sites, and it’s important that we continue using common battery packs, controllers and other electric components between them to make their maintenance and ownership convenient for new adopters.” user’s graphical drawings to minimise program errors. “There’s also some remote connectivity and control systems worth mentioning,” Van Hal adds. “For instance, operators working in winter environments will want to preheat the cabin so they don’t freeze in the early hours of their work. That’s possible through the Webasto remote app, which connects to the excavator via 4G to activate the electric heater and HVAC system. “We’re also adding further connectivity systems for remote tracking of system health parameters, such as for the state of the battery packs and motor. We’re developing a cloud-based monitoring and analytics module in-house as well, since it’s important for users’ long-term costs of ownership to record and evaluate trends in battery SoH, SoC and temperatures. “Users also want to be able to track such trends throughout the night, and in the morning before they arrive at a site, that any packs or machines left January/February 2023 | E-Mobility Engineering 33 Dossier | ECE electric Doosan DX165W and DX300LC