Product News, Reduced Emissions

Tadano launches EVOLT Electric Rough Terrain

In April 2021, Tadano announced that it was working on a fully electric rough terrain crane. Two years later, the EVOLT GR-1000XLL EVOLT was showcased at this year’s ConExpo to industry members for the first time as a fully functional prototype. 

The crane can travel to work sites and take care of all lifting operations there exclusively with energy supplied by its batteries, making fully zero-emission operation possible. A single battery charge is enough for up to nine hours of crane operation, or five hours of crane operation with a travel distance of up to 20km.

Meanwhile, the charging time is a mere two hours with fast charging on a US-COMBO CCS1 connection and only about seven hours with normal charging on a three-phase 240 VAC. In addition, unlimited operation with the crane plugged into a power outlet is available as well. 

The powerful electric motor delivers a maximum output of 194 kW, ensuring that the GR-1000XLL EVOLT has the equivalent lifting capacity and operating speed as its diesel-driven sibling, the GR-1000XLL-4. 

But where the GR-1000XLL EVOLT truly stands apart from its diesel counterpart is environmental friendliness, with Tadano calculating savings of around 8,328 litres of diesel and a resulting reduction of close to 22t of CO2 emissions a year for an average crane usage scenario. 

The powerful electric motor delivers a
maximum output of 194 kW, ensuring that the
GR-1000XLL EVOLT has the equivalent lifting capacity and operating speed as its diesel-driven sibling, the GR-1000XLL-4.

The GR-1000XLL EVOLT will be launched in 2024 – first in the USA and in Canada with releases in other countries, such as Australia, to follow.

“This crane will make an invaluable contribution to achieving our goal of reducing the CO2 emissions from our products by 35 per cent by 2030,” says Toshiaki Ujiie, President and CEO of Tadano Ltd. 

It is worth mentioning that the crane’s lifting performance is exactly the same as that of its diesel-driven counterpart, the GR-1000XLL-4.

The powerful electric motor delivers a maximum output of 194 kW, ensuring that the GR-1000XLL EVOLT has the exact same lifting capacity and operating speed. 

It offers a top speed of 11.2 mph (18 km/h), and its dimensions are exactly the same as those of the GR-1000XLL-4.

Please note, there might be slight changes in specifications compared to the prototype, as the design and production plan is finalised. 

An electric drive that comes with many more advantages

The electric motor not only provides the rough terrain crane with environmentally friendly operation, but also with significantly lower noise levels during work, all while eliminating exhaust emissions. 

These two factors come with considerable advantages for customers in a multitude of scenarios, including projects in urban areas with noise regulations, nighttime lifting work, and indoor assignments.

During ConExpo Tadano also introduced its diesel-driven APU auxiliary power unit for the first time ever on a GR-800XL-4 rough terrain crane. The unit is already currently approved for use as an optional accessory for new orders of Tadano RT models GR-1000XLL and GT-1000XL-4 in the USA and Canada. 

The nine-hp two-cylinder engine on the unit has an extremely low fuel consumption rate of only 0.75 litres of diesel fuel per hour. 

Moreover, by producing an output of 972 W, the APU is able to supply electric power for numerous important crane functions while the onboard engine is off. 

This includes the floodlights and aviation obstruction beacon, the wipers for the windshield and roof, the HVAC system, the USB outlet, and, of course, all important display functions inside the cockpit. 

Tadano calculates that the APU can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by around a fourth when compared to the energy used by the idle running of the onboard diesel engine on the crane.

Electro-hydraulic “e-PACK” makes zero-emission crane operation possible

Tadano introduced its e-PACK in Europe all the way back in 2019. It is an electro-hydraulic system featuring an integrated 32-kW electric motor that works with zero emissions and nearly zero noise – and without any loss in lifting capacity to boot. 

All that is needed is for the crane to set down the e-PACK where it will be used so that it can be connected to an external 400 V / 63 A or 400 V / 32 A power supply. 

The e-PACK is currently available for all new Tadano AC cranes with lifting capacities of up to 80 tonnes, as well as a retrofit for existing cranes.

To register your interest in the GR-1000XLL EVOLT, scan the QR code printed below here. 

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