Designed as a direct replacement for a diesel engine industrial open power unit (IOPU), global power systems provider Perkins says its new hydrogen hybrid IOPU has completed extensive development testing and is now being fitted into the TDS 820 high-torque shredder from Ecotec, a Terex brand.

“Demonstrating in-machine is a key milestone for the team,” says Perkins customer solutions director Andy Curtis. “Terex is one of the world’s leading original-equipment manufacturers for mobile wood processing, biomass and recycling equipment – which we believe is a great fit for the hybrid IOPU.”

Perkins explains that it has partnered with e-powertrain specialists Equipmake and Loughborough University’s Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering in a three-year project aimed at developing an innovative, advanced fuel configurable hybridised IOPU. Project Coeus is supported by UK government funding of £11.14-million through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK.

The company explains that the four fuels selected for inclusion in the project, namely ethanol, methanol, bio-methane and hydrogen, are all spark-ignited fuels. To utilise these fuels, Perkins says it has created a configurable spark-ignited combustion platform on which the project relies.  

"Ecotec equipment processes waste materials such as wood waste, biomass and construction debris, helping customers recover reusable resources and reduce reliance on landfill," says Ecotec business line director Conor Hegarty. "Projects such as Coeus allow us to explore lower-emission technologies that can help meet future environmental requirements while continuing to deliver the power, reliability and productivity our customers expect from Ecotec equipment."

“The Peterborough customer machine engineering team are currently integrating the hydrogen hybrid engine into the high-performance shredder,” says Curtis. “Once that work’s complete, the machine demonstrator will undergo a series of tests at our proving site. We’ll be looking to demonstrate the proof of technology concept and that it achieves the peak load demands and transient response requirements of the machine.”

He adds: “The machine demonstrator will also help us define how to handle and utilise hydrogen within a real-world jobsite environment. This learning will allow us to support our customers’ machine development goals during future project phases.”

Based on the Perkins 1200 series platform, the 1206 hydrogen hybrid IOPU is engineered to deliver a total of 379 kW – made up of the engine and the integrated motor generator unit which boosts performance – and 1938 Nm at 1 200 rpm to 1 500 rpm. The advanced hybrid cooling system is designed to reduce fuel consumption and noise from the IOPU by utilising on-demand cooling technology.