Equipmake offering electric motors for off-road vehicles

Norfolk, United Kingdom-based Equipmake says it is now offering electric motors that offer “huge potential” to create electric-powered versions of off-road and heavy equipment such as material handlers, loaders and bulldozers.

The company says its “range of high-performance yet cost-effective advanced electric motors for off-highway vehicles [can] bring major benefits to multiple types of machinery in terms of power, low running costs and reduced emissions.”

The firm says it has been providing electric vehicle (EV) technology to automotive OEMs and “specialist supercar manufacturers, producing everything from industry-leading electric motors to power electronic systems, all the way up to complete EV drivetrains, while also operating across the agriculture, marine, mining and aerospace” sectors.

“From electric buses to supercars, the APM [advanced permanent magnet] range of motors has made a step change to the efficiency and performance of our automotive clients’ products,” says Ian Foley, managing director of Equipmake. “Those same benefits – high power density and light weight, combined with an extremely compact package that includes integrated components such as the inverter and gearbox – are just as relevant to the world of off-highway.”

The company cites “ever-increasing pressure on minimizing emissions and noise from construction sites, coupled with a drive away from fossil fuels toward improved efficiency and productivity through lower maintenance costs” as reasons spurring the global electric off-highway vehicle market.

Equipmake, citing an India-based MarketsAndMarkets analysis, says the off-highway EV sector is projected to grow from $6.3 billion in sales in 2020 to $17.5 billion by 2025.

The firm’s AMP motors range in output from 125 kilowatts (kW) to 220kW “and weigh as little as 14 kilograms (31 pounds), making Equipmake’s motors the most power dense in global series production.”

Equipmake cites Foley’s work with Williams Racing in the Formula 1 series developing a hybrid engine as having helped it pioneer EV motor technology.

Its permanent magnet motors use a spoke architecture (so-called because the magnets are arranged like the spokes of a wheel) to bring a major cooling advantage, says Equipmake. “Because the motor can be kept cool, it can produce lots of power and torque, use less expensive magnet materials and conventional manufacturing methods, so can be made smaller, lighter and more cost-effective,” states the firm.

“We are experiencing huge demand from the off-highway industry as manufacturers see the benefits that electrified vehicles can bring, from reduced emissions and noise to increased efficiency and lower running costs,” states Foley.

“Factor in the lack of maintenance required compared to traditional diesel machinery, and it is not hard to see why electrification makes so much sense,” he continues. “And, what’s more, Equipmake can work with almost any machinery manufacturer to create an entire, tailor-made electric powertrain.”

A video about Equipmake’s AMP motors can be viewed on this web page.