Propulsion Electrification Architecture Selection Process and Cost of Carbon Abatement Analysis for Heavy-Duty Off-Road Material Handler

The heavy-duty off-road industry continues to expand efforts to reduce fuel consumption and CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions. Many manufacturers are pursuing electrification to decrease fuel consumption and emissions. Future policies will likely require electrification for CO2e savings, as seen in light-duty on-road vehicles. Electrified architectures vary widely in the heavy-duty off-road space, with parallel hybrids in some applications and series hybrids in others. The diverse applications for different types of equipment mean different electrified configurations are required. Companies must also determine the value in pursuing electrified architectures; this work analyzes a range of electrified architectures, from micro hybrids to parallel hybrids to series hybrids to a BEV, looking at the total cost, total CO2e, and cost per CO2e (cost of carbon abatement, or cost of carbon reduction) using data for the year 2021. This study is focused on a heavy-duty off-road material handler, the Pettibone Cary-Lift 204i. This machine’s specialty application, including events like unloading large oil pipes from a railcar, requires a unique electrified architecture that suits its specific needs. However, the results from this study may be extrapolated to similar machinery to inform fuel savings options across the heavy-duty off-road industry. In this study, a unique electrified architecture is determined for the Cary-Lift. This architecture is informed by multiple rounds of a Pugh matrix decision analysis to select a shortened list of desirable electrified architectures. The shortened list is modeled and simulated to determine CO2e, cost, and cost per CO2e. A final architecture is determined as a plug-in series hybrid that reduces fuel consumption by 65%, targeting the large fuel and CO2e savings that are likely to be required for the future of the heavy-duty off-road industry.