Sustainability

In this article, we'll explore 10 trends that are reshaping the heavy equipment landscape going into 2024 to help you stay ahead of the curve.

Western Global, a leader in renewable diesel storage, brings a new distribution center to Sacramento, California. 

Toyota has recently unveiled the second iteration of their hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 truck. Project Portal 2.0, an expansion of Toyota’s first test vehicle, is a giant leap towards a future of zero-emissions trucking.The announcement was made for media and industry leaders in Northern Michigan at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management briefing seminars.

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and XL, a leader in fleet electrification solutions for commercial and municipal fleets that has worked with many Fortune 500 companies to make the change to electrification, recently announced that PSE has finished outfitting forty new vehicles with hybrid conversion technology. This change will serve to reduce each van’s carbon footprint, support the change from petroleum to XL hybrid gas/electric systems, and reduce CO2 emissions by 1.3 million pounds annually. PSE also showcased one of these new hybrid vans at the Green Transportation Summit and Expo on April 17-19th in order to showcase how easy it is for companies to convert fleet vehicles to cleaner systems, in turn, saving costs.

In an effort to promote the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN, Manitou group has announced its newest initiative, Elevation Frontiers. This initiative aims to prioritize the already defined Sustainable Goals established by the UN in order to secure a more viable future. Manitou will be working with select universities in order to develop innovative business solutions that work to advance these goals and pave the way for a sustainable future.

This month Tesla revealed the world’s first-ever electric semi truck in a direct challenge to diesel semi trucks everywhere. While addressing an excited crowd at a Tesla facility in Hawthorne, California, CEO Elon Musk promised to revolutionize the hauling industry with a better, cleaner design – along with many other large claims. Companies like Walmart and the Canadian grocery chain Loblaws have already shown interest by placing small test fleet orders, but will Tesla’s energy-efficient semis really be able to outperform diesel semi trucks upon its promised 2019 release date?

On November 3, 2017, YANMAR America officially opened the new YANMAR EVO//CENTER located at the corner of Highway 92 and Old Alabama Road in Acworth, Georgia. Situated on 50-plus acres of land in Cherokee County, the new 50,000 square foot facility features six state-of-the-art product training labs with classroom and hands-on space, three classrooms, multiple meeting rooms, office space, a 250-seat auditorium, the EVO Commons dining area, concept lab, museum and outdoor product demonstration areas. The EVO//CENTER strives to evolve the mindsets of YANMAR’s customers, dealers, employees, and community by serving as a place of collaboration and education dedicated to sharing solutions for empowering sustainability.

AGCO and Fendt have launched the Fendt e100 Vario, a practical, all-electric compact tractor with 67 HP (50 kW) power output, which can operate for up to 5 hours under actual operating conditions. The energy source is a 650 V high-capacity lithium-ion battery with a capacity of around 100 kWh. The battery is charged either with 400 V and up to 22 kW via a standard CEE outdoor socket, or by a supercharging option with direct voltage. With a standard CCS type 2 plug, the battery can be recharged up to 80% in just 40 minutes. In addition, energy can be recovered thanks to the use of an electric motor.

At the Farm Progress Show, New Holland Agriculture demonstrated the latest development in its vision for the sustainable future of farming: a methane powered concept tractor that reimagines the design of this machine and reveals a connected future. The brand imagines the farm of the future as being completely energy independent: a farm that produces not only food, but also the biomass it needs to generate the energy it uses to run its operations and power its tractors and other machinery.

According to a report out of Reuters on Thursday, Tesla's first semi truck to market will most likely be a day cab and capable of traveling between 200 to 300 miles per charge. The source of speculation is Scott Perry, the chief technology officer at Miami-based fleet operator Ryder System Inc., who said he met with Tesla officials earlier this year to discuss the technology.

If you've been looking for a top-performing large wheel loader that is more fuel-efficient and cost-effective, then look no further. The new Cat 988K XE wheel loader increases efficiency by 25% overall and by up to 49% in face-loading applications, as compared to the 988K. This reduces costs and helps operations reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint. At the same time, Caterpillar production studies report the new loader delivers up to 10% higher productivity in load-and-carry applications.

Some forestry workers around the world are ditching their heavy equipment and embracing draft horse logging as a low-cost and lucrative forestry operation...or are they? Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons why horse logging is making a resurgence.

Kenworth’s T680, T880 and T880S trucks are now available for order with the Cummins Westport ISL G Near Zero NOx emissions natural gas engine. The 8.9-liter Cummins Westport ISL G Near Zero is rated at 320 hp and 1,000 lb-ft of torque.

In a shocking announcement, Volvo announced today that every Volvo it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor, marking the historic end of cars that only have a gas-only engine and placing electrification at the core of its future business.

What's that you (don't) hear? It's the new fully electric EX2 mini excavator by Volvo Construction Equipment. Unfortunately, it is still a concept machine and may never reach production, but the coolness factor is still there and it's a step in the right direction for a sustainable future.

Hyster Company has announced they are currently testing high capacity lift trucks with electric motors. In the near future, ports and heavy industry will be able to electrify their fleets of Big Truck lifting equipment, producing zero emissions while achieving comparable full shift performance.