Today marks another important step towards us deploying the modified excavators on construction sites in Q4 this year.
The project has reached an exciting stage with the installation of the hydrogen tanks and control systems to the two Caterpillar 320 excavators at our facility in Manchester. Previously, one of the Caterpillar 320 excavators was tested to identify the percentage of diesel replacement and an engine map designed to identify the optimum amount of hydrogen that can be introduced without impacting engine performance.
The installation includes lifting the tank assembly onto each of the two excavators and attaching it to the body of the machine. The hydrogen fuel management system control unit is then attached and connected to the engine management system The final part of the process is the installation of the Human Machine Interface (HMI) in the cab which display key system information to the operator.
Next tasks include emissions testing of the machines under controlled conditions in preparation for deployment to the construction sites towards the end of the year.
