Haulotte introduces battery management system

Haulotte has taken steps to improve battery life with the development of Activ’Energy Management, technology, which combines a smart charger with water refilling solutions to optimise the performance and lifespan of batteries and reduces Total Cost of  Ownership. Batteries represent the first maintenance cost item for electric machines. Their lifespan widely varies according to maintenance knowledge or bad habits – some are even replaced while they could function properly with a few corrective actions.

An embedded smart charger communicates with all machine components. The smart charger is designed to  ensure an optimal charge as it permanently monitors the battery’s parameters, such as voltage, intensity and temperature. It integrates various battery charging cycles and adapts the charging curve according to the battery manufacturer’s specifications. In case of unstable power supply, the circuit-breaker activates and the charger automatically reboots as soon as the power supply is stabilised to complete the charging cycle. The charger also embeds a specific hardware to recover from deep discharge. No external booster equipment is required: the charger delivers a longer low voltage recovery cycle to energize the battery in a careful way.

The charger embeds battery maintenance functions that can increase performance and life cycle over time. The automatic equalisation program enables the battery cells to recharge at the same level –  increasing their performances. Sulfation, one of the major causes of battery failure is dealt with by an on-board desulfation program. This ultra-slow charging program dissoves the sulfate layer on the battery plates, and thus enables the batteries to regenerate. It is recommended that users launch it twice a year to drastically improve battery lifespan.To preserve the batteries’ range, the power automatically cuts off after four hours of inactivity.

Real time notifications facilitate the batteries’ charging phase and maintenance. Because of its CAN bus architecture, the smart charger collects various information about the machine batteries. TheHaulotte Activ’Screen will display notifications for operators and technicians when full charge is required, recharge is required to avoid deep-discharge or when charging is finished. The Pulseo range of machines (electric rough terrain MEWP’s) are equipped with a battery monitoring system (BMS) that analyses all battery data and details if deeper battery maintenance needed.

Battery water filling needs to be done every week to improve batteries’ lifespan. Haulotte has developed two solutions to reduce this time consuming operation. The Haulotte Activ’Energy Management System can be fitted with a centralised watering system to refill all the batteries at once, either manually or automatically.

Haulotte claims that the centralised water-filling system can  reduces maintenance efforts up to 96%. A water level sensor integrated in the battery detects when a water refill is required. A network of watering hoses enables all batteries to be refilled at once. Once the operator gets a water filling alert, he simply uses the manual pump to add water to the batteries’ cells. To eliminate all watering maintenance, refilling can be automated. The auto maintenance pack embeds a water tank which automatically refills all batteries after each charge. This auto maintenance pack ensures an optimal battery health without any action required from the operator. The Haulotte Activ’ Screen will only send an alert when the water tank is empty.

With the Haulotte Activ’Energy Management system batteries could last twice as long. The technology was developed with Liten – a major European research institute and a driving force behind the development of sustainable energy technologies. It can help extend the performance of the batteries while reducing the maintenance costs and labour. It is currently available on the HA20 LE and Optimum 8 machines, and will be progressively integrated on the other electric equipment.