Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) will use the CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition March 11 15, 2008, in Las Vegas to unveil a pre-production prototype of its L220F Hybrid wheel loader. Offering more power, better performance and a 10% reduction in fuel consumption, the L220F Hybrid™s increased efficiency and cost saving potential will offer customers a much greater return on their investment over the lifecycle of the machine.
Leveraging its position as the world™s largest manufacturer of heavy-duty diesel engines in the 9 18- liter class, the Volvo L220F Hybrid™s parallel hybrid technology has been developed within the Volvo Group and uses as its platform the proven and reliable D12 engine. While much of the technology remains confidential, subject to patents pending, the heart of the hybrid system is an ISG Integrated Starter Generator. Fitted between the engine and the transmission, the ISG is coupled to a state-of-the art battery that has many times the power capacity of a normal lead acid battery. The ISG works in a number of ways:
Power when you need it and only when you need it
Firstly, up to 40% of a wheel loader™s time can be spent with the engine idling. The ISG allows the diesel engine to be turned off when stationary and then almost instantly restarted by rapidly spinning the engine up to optimum working speed using a burst of energy from the high power battery.
