Italian self-propelled modular vehicle and heavy load transporter brand Cometto has launched a hybrid powered version of its ModulMAX SP-E model SPMT. The company believes the hybrid-powered SPMT will be of benefit to players in the wind industry in face of increasingly strict eco regulations.
The six-axle ModulMAX SP-E, with electronic steering, has a hybrid Power Pack Unit equipped with a 186 kW diesel engine and a 100 kW electric motor with a corresponding battery pack. These are charged via the diesel engine in combustion engine mode.
The company says it has created the hybrid version in response to new legal requirements that are prompting companies, particularly in the wind industry, to adapt their processes.
Cometto illustrates this using Denmark as an example. In Denmark, until now, SPMT vehicles have been able to drive into factory buildings to pick up heavy components and transport them to open-air storage. New regulations, however, mean that when diesel-powered transport vehicles are now used indoors then all employees must leave the area. Only when the hall has been properly ventilated and measured can the staff return to work.
Cometto believes other countries will soon follow the Danish example.
Cometto has already supplied the hybrid version of its SPMT to a customer in the Danish wind industry that it says is looking to avoid disruptions to its production line and adhere with latest Danish regulations.
The new ModulMAX SP-E SPMTs bought by the Danish wind industry company can negate any delays by switching to electric-only mode when being used indoors. In addition, Cometto says, its hybrid SPMTs have exceeded the contractually agreed electrical-only range of the hybrid PPU by double.
Another plus, Cometto says, is reduced noise levels. The noise levels are now below 80 dB(A). This means that, according to Danish law employees can work in the hall for up to eight hours without requiring hearing protection in the immediate vicinity.
“Using hybrid technology, it is now possible to drive completely emission-free within the hall with the battery pack and the electric motor,” says Cometto sales manager Joachim Kolb. “And when the transport combination arrives outside, the driver can switch to the diesel engine at the touch of a button and then drive the long distances with the combustion engine. And if even more power is required, the diesel engine can be additionally boosted by the electric motor – just like in Formula 1.”
