Komatsu launches world's first hybrid excavator

Bulldozers, front-end loaders and excavators used in building and mining projects are going hybrid amid surging fuel costs, and Japan again seems to be in the lead. Komatsu Ltd., the world’s second-biggest maker of earth-moving machines, launched mid-June what it called the world’s first hybrid hydraulic excavator, twinning a traditional diesel engine with a capacitor, a battery-like electronic device. Big global and local rivals Caterpillar Inc., Volvo AB, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. and Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. are also pushing into the hybrid space with plans to be in production between 2008 and 2009. But the companies and their investors will have to wait some time before they see a steady flow of orders as buyers steel themselves to pay higher prices, analysts said. The race to move into more fuel-efficient machines comes as makers of industrial vehicles are struggling with tougher emissions control standards to be adopted in the United States and Europe after 2011. Analysts expect the rules will force companies to invent totally new engines using cutting-edge technology. Komatsu Chief Executive Kunio Noji said he aimed to replace 20% of its excavator market in Asia with the new hybrid machines, but declined to give a timeframe. (June 17, 2008)