Increasingly, today’s construction, mining, energy, and transportation businesses are looking for and evaluating equipment and technology that will help them do their jobs more environmentally. In turn, Caterpillar develops energy technologies for flexible use of energy and reduction of carbon emissions.
Caterpillar Expands Its Solar® Gas Engine and Gas Turbine Legacy
In response to growing interest in hydrogen fuel, Caterpillar has announced that some gas generator sets are being configured to use 100 percent hydrogen based on a design-to-order basis. Several commercial units are also planned, configured to run on natural gas blended with up to 25% hydrogen. This is made possible by more than 35 years of experience with high hydrogen fuels.
In partnership with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems, Caterpillar is implementing a hydrogen fuel cell project for sustainable backup power in Microsoft data centers. The project is supported and partially funded by the US Department of Energy.
Caterpillar acquires carbon capture technology company CarbonPoint Solutions
The American company CarbonPoint Solutions develops technologies for concentration and capture of CO2 for the purpose of further utilization or sequestration. The patented designs are applicable to engines and turbines in oil and gas facilities, distributed power plants and industrial plants, and waste-to-energy plants. Caterpillar plans to implement these technologies in Cat® engines and Solar® gas turbines.
Electric Drive Technology in Construction and Mining Equipment Caterpillar
Caterpillar’s modern electrically advanced machines feature improved cycle times, lower fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions than earlier versions.
For example, American heavy civil engineering company Goodfellow Bros. is using a D6 XE bulldozer, the world’s first powerful electric bulldozer, in a solar power project in Hawaii. After 900 hours of operation, the D6 XE was found to produce 35% fewer emissions than other bulldozers doing the same job.
ESS Energy Storage System and Other Caterpillar Battery Solutions
The development helps to integrate multiple power sources in the workplace and is a rapidly deployable power solution. ESS helps in grid stabilization, supports transients and renewable energy storage. This modular approach is scalable for both desktop and mobile applications.
To help the customer reduce costs and emissions at the land rig site, Caterpillar has developed a custom hybrid electronic rig system. The complex combines a field gas generator, energy storage devices and built-in controls.
The Caterpillar R1700 XE Battery Electric Underground Loader is already working in deep, difficult to ventilate and high temperature underground mines. The R1700 XE is equipped with a MEC500 charger.
At rail yards, the EMD(R) Joule zero-emission battery electric locomotive provides zero idling and low noise levels.
At bauma 2022 in Munich, Caterpillar was displaying prototype battery-electric machines: the 301.9 Mini Excavator, 320 Medium Excavator, 950 GC Medium Wheel Loader and 906 Compact Wheel Loader. In addition to the prototype batteries, each machine was equipped with an on-board AC charger.
In the near future, Caterpillar plans to develop off-board DC fast charging technology. Such batteries will be available to power other industrial applications. Caterpillar is committed to designing batteries to scale to meet the needs of the industry, while also ensuring maximum sustainability throughout their life cycle with future recycling in mind.
