News: PowerTALK

2023-08-20

DATAPOINT: NA Personal Watercraft

89,700 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Personal Watercraft (PWC) expected to be produced in North America in 2023. In this category, we include jet drive boats and jet drive pontoons as well as personal watercraft.

Jet Drive Boats are boats propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft; they have no propeller and can maneuver in shallow water. PWCs are also driven by jet water and come in several styles: Stand-Ups or Sit-Downs. They are often referred to as jet skis. Sit Downs are designed for one, two or three persons in a sitting position, one in front of the other. PWC Stand-Ups are designed for one rider standing or kneeling on the watercraft.

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Continued Growth Seen for Powersports Market

Michael Aistrup

The growing popularity of powersports is expected to provide many new opportunities ln this rapidly growing market. Some of the trends fueling this long-term growth potential are:

Growing/changing market for utility-terrain vehicles (UTVs).

  • Technological advancements through improved durability and adaptability to UTV’s, ensure greater enjoyment for UTV riders.
  • Industry-leading companies will continue to focus on increased product range and rigorous R&D initiatives to strengthen their market standing.
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U.S. Economic Downturn this Year or Next?

Jim Downey

SUMMARY. As we are halfway through 2023, there is more uncertainty with the economy than earlier in the year. The general consensus is there will be a recession coming soon in the United States, and now it is just a matter of whether this will happen later in 2023 or the first of part of 2024.

The latter may be more assumed recently. The stock market has not fallen, and the US economy has not entered a recession this year, 2023. Some of the factors that have prevented this are market investors being enthusiastic over AI (Artificial Intelligence) potential, the Federal Reserve’s pause in interest rate increases, and the slowdown of inflation. So seemingly the pause button has been hit on recession scenarios.

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Hydrogen Engines Face Production Hurdles

Liebherr’s managing director of its combustion engine business unit, Stefanie Gerhardt, has outlined four major hurdles to resolve before hydrogen can become mainstream.

Gerhardt asserted that hydrogen combustion engines can be used everywhere where electrically powered machines and hydrogen fuel cells reach their limit. And she suggested that they would be particularly useful in construction applications where economy, robustness, and high performance are required.

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Methane Is A Big Greenhouse Gas Problem

The world has a methane gas problem. Methane is over 80 times worse for forcing global heating over 20 years than its greenhouse gas sibling, carbon dioxide.

And yet we love to burn natural gas, which is mostly methane, to make electricity and heat. Our agricultural and food systems leave a lot of biomass lying around where a lot of it turns into methane and enters the atmosphere. Acceptable limits of leakage are suggested at 0.2%, however evidence suggests that actual leakage to be in the range of 1.5% to 3%

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EV Gas Emissions Evaluated

Argonne National Laboratory’s cradle-to-grave analysis considers everything from raw material extraction to vehicle scrappage to provide a holistic view of the sustainability of different vehicle and fuel technologies.

The analysis showed that EVs (which have no tailpipe emissions) also have fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional gasoline or hybrid electric vehicles when the entire life cycle is considered.

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New Machinery Requirements

Christopher Bamforth
Christopher Bamforth

New Machinery requirements have been published for Europe and will replace the existing Machinery Directive Jan. 20, 2027. OEMs will have to be compliant with the new requirements on that day since there is no transition period.

With a heavy focus on safety, the environment and machine learning, the main takeaways are that these are EU regulations. This means that manufacturers will not have to wait for each member state’s upgrade of the regulation into law. This may streamline the process although it could mean big changes for some member states that previously had fewer requirements.

And there’s another important consideration. Since we have entered the digital age, all certifications and instructions can be in digital format. One exception is the non-professional machinery’s safety measures which must be included in paper format.

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2023-07-27

Outdoor Power Equipment Shifts To Electric

Michael Aistrup

In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift towards environmentally friendly and energy-efficient outdoor power equipment in the global market. This shift is evident in both the consumer and the construction markets. Battery-powered tools have gained popularity because of their lower emissions, reduced noise levels, and convenience.

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Q2 2023 Economic Update Is Mostly Positive

GLOBAL REPORT
Guy Youngs
Guy Youngs

SUMMARY. There are several factors that could contribute to modest growth in the second half of this year as we await final numbers for the quarter. This should lead to total production globally growing at +2.6% in 2023 (vs 2022). Given this 2023 growth, the outlook for the years into 2028 remains positive.

Apart from Russia and Ukraine, the main country to show a decline is South Korea, while Japan is barely positive. However, the segment picture shows some differences.

  • Fuel prices have eased recently, but they remain a serious concern.
  • Supply chains remain constrained.
  • The war in Ukraine shows no sign of a speedy conclusion, despite recent successes by Ukraine.
  • Ukrainian exports of wheat, other grains and fertilizer continue but are still low compared to pre-war levels.
  • Inflation continues to be a concern and central banks are raising their interest rates. This will pose a risk to economic growth in all regions. Inflation and price increases are putting OEMs in a tricky situation.
  • Risk of recession appears in several countries including the USA and Germany.
  • Covid is still lingering with global deaths now at over 6.9 million, but the death rate has slowed considerably.
  • Latent demand for machinery keeps bursting out into the open.
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VW Claims New Dry Battery Process Is Money-Saver

Battery technology is constantly evolving as scientists, and vehicle and battery manufacturers seek to improve battery technology that will lead to less expensive electric cars with longer range and faster charging times. In the latest development, Volkswagen says it has come up with a new dry coating process that will allow it to lower the price of its electric cars by several hundred dollars. Dry coating reduces energy consumption in the production of battery cells by 30%, which could lower the cost of electric cars by several hundred dollars per vehicle.

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