![]() ![]() Unlocking the full potential of SR hybrid electric drive technologyīringing new benefits to customers has been the driving force behind decades of engineering and field testing efforts: “The goal has always been to improve cost per hour and cost per ton, and we’re addressing that issue for operations around the world,” says Barr.īesides fuel savings and less environmental impact, SR hybrid electric drive technology has many other advantages: Humidity chambers and freezers in the bench test rooms to test performance in harsh climates.Seven power electronics bench test rooms that allow accurate assessments of machine performance in simulated conditions.Thirteen large electric drive test rooms.Capability for full drive line testing for mining vehicles of all sizes.The Electric Drive Innovation Center provides our engineers opportunities to continue to develop switched reluctance motor technology with resources like: This facility is nearly 25,000 square feet with a 6,000-square-foot covered area outdoors. “We’re taking our 100 years of experience in applying electric drive to earth moving equipment and we’re really ratcheting up the scope of the work we are doing.” “The Electric Drive Innovation Center is representative of our desire to push the boundaries of what is possible,” says Mark Barr, Director of Engineering at Komatsu. Today, the Electric Drive Innovation Center is a state-of-the-art research and development facility - an engineering hub focused on ushering the mining industry into a new era of efficiency and productivity. With developing all the SR intellectual property, intelligence and assets over 70 years in one location, it made sense to create a dynamic center with a growing team where hybrid electric technology could continue to evolve and thrive. In 2019, we launched the Electric Drive Innovation Center in Longview to continue to further hybrid electric drive advancements. We also added the innovative Kinetic Energy Storage System (KESS) on several machines, which uses features of the SR technology to provide deep storage of electrical braking energy for on-demand use. For instance, SR technology is now also used on our hybrid shovel. We've taken that technology and continued to expand on it to improve efficiencies for our customers’ equipment. Switched reluctance motor technology was first developed many years ago for wheel loaders in the Komatsu facility at Longview, Texas. Longview - the epicenter of hybrid electric drive development Today, SR hybrid technology has progressed to become an integral technology that powers productivity at mines and construction sites around the world thanks, in part, to an expert Komatsu electric drive engineering team and innovation lab. Since then, the hybrid electric drive has evolved - it’s taken decades to perfect current hybrid electric drive products and innovate future ones. LeTourneau, and Komatsu subsequently acquired Joy Global and its latest electric drive switched reluctance (SR) technology. pioneered the use of electric drive in earth moving equipment back in the 1920s. In fact, earthmoving industry pioneer R.G LeTourneau Inc. But the hybrid electric drive was a mainstay in mining equipment decades before the auto industry began to develop hybrid vehicles. When you think of hybrid technology, your first thought might be a Toyota Prius or other consumer automobiles joining the electric vehicle craze. Hybrid electric drive technology - a history of heavy equipment innovation that continues today ![]()
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