Norwegian hydrogen-powered equipment and systems developer, Applied Hydrogen, has initiated functional testing of its retrofitted Volvo EC300 excavator, powered by Ballard – marking another significant milestone on the road to decarbonization for heavy-duty construction vehicles.
The excavator is currently going through system tests and refilling sequences for hydrogen supply. These are performed at Applied Hydrogen's test site, located in Kongsberg, Norway which provides sub-zero ambient conditions which assist the verification of cold-start properties, as well as start-up and shutdown sequences.
Following this first tranche of trials, Applied Hydrogen's team will log uptime, refuelling frequency, and total cost of ownership. The final preparations are now being undertaken before the zero-emission vehicle will be used as part of a large road construction project in Northern Norway, supported by the Norwegian Road Authorities.
With successful implementation and deployment of the excavator, the company would plan to scale for sale in the domestic market, as well as export the model directly into additional European projects with customers - before progressing to the zero-emission conversion of bulldozers, wheel loaders, and other heavy-duty vehicles.
[Footage courtesy of Applied Hydrogen]
The hydrogen-powered vehicle is based on a Volvo EC300E crawler excavator, which has been converted to deliver a decarbonized heavy-duty solution. The process involved removing the excavator’s original diesel engine and replacing it with hydrogen power – by integrating Ballard’s powerful FCmove®-XD 120kW fuel cell technology, which is tailored for heavy-duty mobility.
The conversion of the excavator consisted of a completely new fuel cell-based power plant, with the FCmove®-XD module meeting the excavator's requirements fully. Introducing hydrogen to the power train enables emission-free machine operation of heavy units with much higher energy consumption than is practically possible with battery power - with similar performance to diesel-powered vehicles, as one 15-30-minute refill provides enough fuel for the model to complete a full shift without the need for breaks or catering for capacity limitations.
Meeting Applied Hydrogen's performance requirements fully, Ballard's 120kW engine forms a key facet of a best-in-breed partner ecosystem that includes Hexagon Purus hydrogen tanks and Cascadia Motion Controls electric power units to provide comprehensive support to the platform.
Once fully operational, the hydrogen-powered 30-ton excavator is expected to eliminate approximately 60 tons of CO2 emissions per year.