Imer’s hybrid technology unveiled in skid steer

The IMER Group was proudly displaying its prototype skid steer loader at Intermat 2015: the 3S, a ‘smart, sustainable, skid’. The new hybrid technology has been developed by the group’s earth moving business IHIMER which is a joint venture between the IMER Group and the construction machinery arm of Japanese giant the IHI Corporation.
January 6, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
IMER Group’s first hybrid machine – the 3S skid steer loader

The 6233 IMER Group was proudly displaying its prototype skid steer loader at Intermat 2015: the 3S, a ‘smart, sustainable, skid’. The new hybrid technology has been developed by the group’s earth moving business 4848 IHIMER which is a joint venture between the IMER Group and the construction machinery arm of Japanese giant the IHI Corporation.

The prototype is the culmination of a development programme which has involved both Pisa and Florence Universities, said Paolo Pianigiani, director of the IMER Access business unit. Following on from the skid steers, access platforms will be the next IMER products to benefit from hybrid technology followed by mini excavators.

“The aim was to develop power units which then could be used on other products in our company,” explained Pianigiani. “There could be a wide spectrum of uses.” IMER has four divisions: earthmoving, access platforms, small equipment and concrete.

With an operating weight of 1,330kg, the 3S has an operating load of 330kg and delivers a breakout force of 750 kgf. Power is stored in a lithium ferro phosphate battery pack  90 Ah 86 V, which provides a range of two hours with a 7 kW Worms Expert 7510X on-board auxiliary power unit.

The drive control system, which was developed in the access business of the company, sees the four independent wheels controlled electronically, managing power delivery according to the actual demand. “The integration of the hybrid technology and the drive system allows you to have better control of the traction and consequently safer operation,” said Pianigiani.

The unit, which should be in production by the end of the year, will be useful in a wide range of applications, said Pianigiani from landscaping, maintenance and civil works to use by the army - as it can be operated remotely if required.

Finance & Funding

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Big excavators go ‘e’
    September 28, 2023
    These days, even those beasts of the construction site – excavators – have a date with sustainability, despite the huge amount of electric power needed to operate a machine that pushes about high loads of dirt.
    Read More
  • Electrifying! Komatsu’s Proterra-powered PC210E excavator 
    October 26, 2022
    Komatsu has unveiled a 20tonne PC210E electric hydraulic excavator equipped with a Proterra-manufactured lithium-ion battery system.
    Read More
  • Compact machines deliver more - for less
    February 14, 2012
    The mini and midi excavator sector continues to squeeze more out of less, with some innovative engineering solutions being applied to zero- and short-tailswing models - Geoff Ashcroft investigates. It is a vicious circle - customers seek smaller, tighter, ever more compact excavators, leaving manufacturers with the challenges of squeezing greater levels of technology into what is all too often an even smaller machine.
    Read More
  • New tunnelling machines are coming to market
    May 13, 2015
    Major gains in tunnelling productivity and performance are claimed for a series of new machines now coming to market These new tools will help contractors boost productivity and versatility in an array of applications. The new equipment items are designed for a variety of tasks, including drilling and shotcreting duties. One of the leaders in the underground equipment sector, Atlas Copco, has a new line-up of single and twin boom drill rigs, which suit duties in smaller tunnelling applications. The fi
    Read More

Highlighted Content