green-efficientdrives

Elisa Foltyn
2021-11-15T18:13:04+01:00
Motion Arena
Baum��ller

Ecological and efficient drive concepts

A different approach to energy efficiency: how we make drives sustainable!

Why?

Global warming must be curbed by measures to prevent an increase in natural disasters.

We can contribute to this with energy-efficient drive concepts.

Applications

There are already many things: pedelecs, e-scooters, e-cars.

All these applications have one thing in common: energy-efficient drive technology. This stands and falls with the range of the battery. But battery power is limited by weight, form factor, etc. Therefore, the goal is to convert as much battery energy as possible into motion in order to increase the attractiveness of the individual products.

But there is much more

Efficient drives are already in use in many e-mobility solutions.

Public buses, minibuses, special vehicles, such as the street sweeper, wheel loaders for the agricultural sector, e.g. at the zoo in Leipzig, bull harvesters, snow groomers, fully electric trucks - all equipped with Baum��ller drive technology.

The big driver is shipping. Diesel-electric or battery-electric propulsion concepts are conquering the market.

Electrified ships

Using a ship as an example, the energy saving can be explained well:

Classically, a propulsion system is designed for the pro-peller, i.e. for the peak power that a ship has to reach in order to perform maneuvers or similar. However, the power is concentrated at one point by the classic combustion engine.

This is problematic because partial load ranges are often necessary, where a diesel does not operate at its optimal distribution point in terms of efficiency / CO2 emissions. With hybrid or diesel-electric propulsion systems, this is feasible due to the system performance.

Therefore, 20 to 30 percent fuel savings are possible with hybrid ship concepts.

Hybrid work boat

One of our references is the boat Trischen

The drive system of the Trischen is a serial hybrid drive, in which the diesel engines drive the generator and the electric motors are directly responsible for driving the propellers.

The most important advantage: The combustion engine is run continuously with optimum efficiency with minimum consumption and exhaust emissions. With the same fuel consumption the conventional diesel drive has an additional 30 percent output.

Compared to similar boats, the Trischen is among the top-ranking achievers when it comes to efficiency, emissions as well as running and maintenance costs.

Energy consumption

Mobility is a huge driver of energy efficiency

But a look at the energy consumption in Germany shows: Only 30 percent is in transportation, 26 percent belongs to households, commerce is a big part, but industry also uses a lot of energy.

What can be done in the industry sector?

Shredding for reusing waste

The topic can be described using a shredder as a practical example

Recycling is about the preparation and reuse of waste. The aim is to manufacture new products from old materials. Everyone uses a wide variety of raw materials in their daily lives, such as metals, oil, wood, plastics and much more. But these raw materials are only available in limited quantities.

Therefore, waste plants process waste to produce recyclable products.

This creates a cycle that helps to preserve nature and the environment and also promotes ecological thinking. Large parts are thus turned into many small parts. The shredder shaft shreds the material. It is driven by a torque motor, which has an efficiency of over 90 percent.

Water cooling

But working efficiently also means working resource-efficiently.

For example, the energy carrier water is used to recover process energy. A high proportion of the electrical energy supplied is converted into mechanical power. The remaining 10 percent or so of the electrical power is lost in the form of heat. To prevent the motor from overheating, this heat must be dissipated. Various cooling options are available for this purpose. One of these is water cooling, in which water is fed through channels in the motor housing.

In many cases, water cooling can reduce the engine size and consequently increase the power density.

This improves energy efficiency and thus the CO₂ balance, and also increases cost-effectiveness. The cooling water heated during the cooling process can then be used, for example, to heat residential and industrial buildings or greenhouses.

Servo-hydraulic drive system

Let's take a look at a very energy-efficient servo-hydraulic drive system.

It is used in many industrial applications, such as presses, punching and bending machines, or injection molding machines. Servo pump drives for hydraulic supply consist of a constant pump driven by a servo motor. Changing the motor speed in a highly dynamic way allows the precise control of the volume and pressure. If neither volume nor pressure are required, the motor stops, consuming no energy.

? Significant reduction of energy consumption

Baum��ller energy calculator

With immediate effect, Baum��ller provides a calculator which calculates the potential energy savings achieved by changing from hydraulic to servo-hydraulic technology, online, in only three steps. Depending on the application, changing from hydraulic to servo-hydraulic technology for a hydraulic machine can save more than 50 percent energy (kWh) per cycle.

The online calculator is available here.

Future thoughts

And what will they be working on in the future?

Artificial intelligence for energy forecasts, for example. The goal is to find out how much energy will be needed the next day to drive an electric car from, say, Nuremberg to W��rzburg and back. Taking unplanned events into account, of course.

Surplus energy can be used to stabilize the power grid or, for example, for the television, washing machine, etc.

There are many ways to reduce the carbon footprint and save resources.

Would you like to work with us on sustainable, energy-efficient drive solutions? Then please feel free to contact us.

Do you have further questions about our solutions? Then use the opportunity to contact us. Get in touch with us now!