THERE’S nothing like a bit of change to get tongues wagging. That was certainly the case on the Forest Machine Operators Blog last month when members reacted to a new hybrid electric vehicle from one of the industry’s biggest names.
Ponsse’s EV1 – developed in partnership with Epec – is a 15-tonne load-carrying forwarder, featuring a fully electric powertrain, which operates solely with battery energy, and a diesel engine to charge the generator.
According to Ponsse, it is a “peek” into the future. If the reaction on the Blog is anything to go by, not everyone sees it quite the same way.
Let’s start with those who welcomed Ponsse’s new effort to go green. Reacting to a post from Forestry Journal – which revealed the news to members – one said: “Excellent. Love to know more.”
Another member went even further in his praise for the brand behind the Elk, Buffalo and Elephant ranges.
“Game changer,” he wrote. “Well done, Ponsse, leading the way.”
However, not everyone was quite so taken by the idea of rocking up to work on Monday and leaving the traditional forwarder at home. Several members questioned just how long the EV1 would last in the woods (more on that later).
“How are you going to charge that when it’s in the middle of nowhere for weeks on end?” one asked.
Another, based in England, was less than impressed.
“Impressive,” he jokingly replied. “Cut down trees to charge the batteries to cut down more trees to feed more power stations to charge more batteries to make the world greener. World’s gone mad.”
“Waste of time,” said another.
But one critic unknowingly stumbled on Ponsse’s solution to the lack of charge points in the forest.
“Probably needs a huge diesel generator to charge it at nights, which defeats the purpose,” he said.
This is where Ponsse’s ‘Range Extender’ comes in. Essentially some clever marketing jargon, at this stage of development that’s a diesel combustion engine. Running around 50 per cent of the time, this charges the generator, but doesn’t directly power the EV1’s forwarding functions.
In time, Ponsse chiefs say the Range Extender could be replaced by a more eco-friendly solution, such as a hydrogen engine. Serial development is still “several years” away, so plenty of opportunity for that to come to fruition.
READ MORE: EV1: First look at Ponsse's new electric forwarder concept
Back to the Blog and members continued to raise some pertinent questions about the EV1.
“Will be interesting to see how the price, performance and running costs compare to a similar size machine with a normal diesel power train,” one pondered.
Clearly in favour of the move to greener vehicles, another operator replied: “I’m very interested to hear this. Now I’m not sure about the setup they are using. However, removing hydrostatic drive should cut 35 per cent of the energy used for travelling. So, say on average around 20 per cent of overall fuel use [the 20 per cent figure was mentioned by Ponsse during a press conference to launch the EV1].
“If they are able to use regenerative breaking, the fuel saving could be much more. Effectively on a downhill extraction it would be possible to use no fuel. Just running on the potential energy of the weight of the timber coming down the hill.”
Elsewhere, the same member was back, on this occasion turning his attention to the operator who called the EV1 a “waste of time”.
“It’s nothing but craziness that this is only just happening now,” he said. “I can’t say how useful this machine from Ponsse is.
“However, the advantages are vast. Reliability is going to be one of many advantages.
“But imagine the advantages of having individual wheels powered by electric motors, no drive shafts, no differentials, torque steering, no requirement for wind-down bogies. I could go on.
“Then how about fuel saving? On a downhill extraction you could run a forwarder on no fuel whatsoever.”
He added: “The machine has a diesel engine. But the point is you can use much less fuel. Eventually, at some point in the future, you will be dropping the battery in the back of a pickup and dropping it at a charger on the way home. But that’s probably at least a decade away.”
Bringing the debate to a close, one member, who appeared in favour of the EV1, made an excellent point.
“What this post shows is that most people look at the headline and comment rather than read the details.”
You’re telling us!
Now, you might not have noticed, but there’s the small matter of the APF Show coming up this month. The largest forestry event in the UK, it’ll see more than 300 exhibitors display the latest tech, vehicles, and machines to thousands of visitors.
And it got Mark Curtis, the founder of the Blog, thinking.
He wrote: “With the APF on the horizon, it begs the question: what do people look for or want to see in a forestry show?
“Personally, the two best ones I’ve been at over the years have been the KWF in Germany and the live demo that was held in Scotland, the latter being a great few days and well organised.
“Be nice to see something like that in Ireland.
“What’s your thoughts and which show did you enjoy the most?”
One member replied: “Lockerbie harvesting demo was very good. APF still the place to go if you want to see everything in the same field in the UK and compare like-for-like, unless you can get to Elmia or KWF.”
Elsewhere, several members came forward with some ‘novel’ suggestions for a forestry show.
“Strippers, hard beer, and no T-winches,” one said.
Another added: “Definitely a German beer tent.”
We’ll forward such suggestions to the APF organisers.
Finally, one of the best things about the Blog is the camaraderie, and this was evident in the replies to one member’s post about a job in Putney.
After taking down a 350-year-old cedar at a school, the operator was only too happy to share images of their success.
“Good job there,” read one comment. “Fair-sized stick there. Well done.”
“Amazing bit of kit,” another member replied. “Very efficient!”
Wondering what fate had in store for the tree, one operator asked: “Can any of that be routed to a school that might have kids in woodwork?”
The original poster replied: “They are keeping the main stump and I believe they plan to carve it.
“Some of the limbs have been laid out as benches for kids to sit on, and they did mention some of the smaller pieces will be going to a local guy to turn into coasters and keyrings.
“It was a very prominent part of the school, so they are doing things so the local community has a chance to have a keepsake.”
And what a lovely keepsake it will be.
To keep up with the latest discussion, check out the Forest Machine Operators Blog on Facebook.
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