In this episode of Fluid Power Forum, host Eric Lanke interviews Marcus Herrera, advanced systems application engineer at HYDAC, about the NFPA white paper, “Energy Efficiency Gains from Advanced Hydraulics,” and what OEMs should consider when replacing internal combustion engines with batteries or fuel cells.
Herrera explains why electrification brings uncertainty around performance, charging infrastructure, supply chain maturity, cost, and market acceptance, and why hydraulic efficiency becomes more critical when onboard energy is fixed and recharge times are long. Using the paper’s efficiency comparisons, he notes that improving hydraulic efficiency can have more than double the impact on usable energy in electrified machines, affecting shift length and battery size.
They discuss major loss sources such as metering losses, strategies like proportional control, and how sensors, controls, and software enable user-assist automation that improves efficiency, safety, and productivity.
Be sure to check out the full report here.
The panel describes company shifts toward system engineering, acquisitions, and vehicle-level testing, notes autonomy as an emerging driver, and concludes that hydraulics’ power density remains difficult to replace, though electric actuators fit some niche use cases.
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