Recorded live at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas, host Eric Lanke interviews NFPA Advanced Hydraulics Conference presenters Barun Acharya (Parker Hannifin), Joe Budden (Danfoss Power Solutions), and Philippe Reynolds (Poclain Hydraulics) on how electrification is driving innovation in mobile hydraulics through hybrid architectures, smarter controls, and integrated mechatronic solutions.
Acharya outlines hybrid strategies to reduce battery cost via engine and hydraulic downsizing, variable pumps, steer-by-wire, and faster electric motor speed control to cut losses. Budden discusses selecting among increasingly complex system architectures and highlights new EV challenges such as back ElectroMotive Force (EMF), torque ripple, and Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH). Reynolds presents an integrated electronic drive unit for electrified wheel hubs, emphasizing energy-based sizing, higher voltage trends, and plug-and-play integration.
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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