ALTERNATIVE DIVERSITY.

When DEUTZ and 67 other companies approached the German government in April this year to lobby for a climate stimulus package, one message in particular became clear: even in light of the coronavirus pandemic and the consequences that come with it, climate policy objectives must not be ignored. This is why DEUTZ will continue to focus sharply on one of its most important growth projects in the future, because the E-DEUTZ strategy plays a key role in terms of sustainability.

A look at the past year shows that DEUTZ is pushing ahead intensively with its electrification strategy. Acquiring battery specialist Futavis boosted the inhouse competence in batteries as a key technology, which in turn reinforced the system competence in the electric drives segment provided by Torqeedo by adding a battery management system in the high-voltage range. An attractive product portfolio including the necessary battery management system is now available from one source to meet the individual requirements of customers. DEUTZ has also invested in the foundation of a team of dedicated engineers at the Cologne location. In coordination with specialists from the subsidiaries, this team is responsible for the development and industrialisation of electrified powertrains and lithium-ion batteries within the framework of the E-DEUTZ strategy. Within the DEUTZ/Futavis/Torqeedo group, high-voltage batteries have already been developed and produced, and the first specific applications have been made available to a renowned customer from the on-road industry. At the Conexpo trade fair in Las Vegas, a JLG telehandler was presented in the spring of this year, which is equipped with a 360V drive train based on the basic 360V E-DEUTZ drive. This basic system will be ready for the market in early 2021. It includes a 42 kWh lithium-ion battery for the power supply, which is produced in-house. Compared to the prototypes presented thus far, this is a big step forward to fully industrialised powertrains. As part of the E-DEUTZ strategy, DEUTZ is not only fully electric, but also relies on hybrid drives as a future solution for machines with utilisation profiles that are difficult to realise economically with purely electric drive trains. The modular E-DEUTZ system offers four basic drive systems – fully electric and hybrid on 360V and 48V basis. Over the next three years, these four drive systems will be industrialised and brought to market. Based on market demand, E-DEUTZ provides a range of components for each drive system. Customers can choose from them to configure drive trains for their individual applications, e.g. by selecting different power ranges of electric motors and different sizes of lithium-ion batteries. One clear advantage of the modular concept is that only the relevant components or modules that are subject to technological development are adapted – not the entire system. This allows DEUTZ to react quickly and flexibly to technological developments, which also significantly shortens the time to market. ‘At DEUTZ, w want to actively shape the future and become a pioneer of climate-neutral off-road mobility of the future. This is our primary goal, which we are not losing sight of even in these challenging times’, emphasises DEUTZ CEO Dr Frank Hiller.