The January 2023 Alternative Power Report produced by PSR’s Guy Youngs and other analysts at Power Systems Research includes several articles on hydrogen power. New applications of hydrogen power from construction to marine are discussed in this issue. Plans by OEMs Audi and BMW for new EV cars also are discussed. PSR
Hydrogen power continues to be a hot topic as an alternative power source, as you’ll see when you read the March 2023 issue of the Alternative Power Report from Power Systems Research. Development of the charging infrastructure is a hot topic, too, as we see with the article on Subway tying its sandwich shops in with charging stations. PSR
Audi and the utility EnBW are pioneering an energy storage facility built on retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This partnership is being billed as the solution to a major problem in each industry.
For automobile manufacturers, the question of how to recycle retired batteries has been pressing for some time. Utilities have been struggling with the perverse problem that excess generation from renewable sources has been slowing adoption, as surges from those sources can disrupt the stability of power grids.
EV batteries have a functional life of 3-10 years after they are retired from vehicle use, making them a ready tool for use by utilities.
Portland General Electric Company (PGE) also is seeking to create a more resilient grid for the utilization of renewable energy sources. They are launching a pilot program to incentivize the installation of home battery systems to act as a virtual power plant.
If you were hoping for COVID-19 to disappear from the news by the school year, it’s obviously not going to happen. With major companies like Google announcing they won’t be sending employees back to their offices until the summer of 2021 and COVID metrics climbing again in the South and West, we probably will be working on the impact of the pandemic well into next year.
It could almost be considered a truism to say that COVID-19 has been bad for business. The 33% annualized decline in GDP in Q2 2020 would apparently confirm that, and even the most positive about the economy must concede that a 9.5% single-quarter contraction is painful, to say the least. With businesses closed and housing starts in June lagging 4% behind last year, even with the brief reprieve when states began to reopen, the power generation segment has been hit hard by the pandemic.
Cummins, a giant in the industry, announced at the end of July that its revenues for Q2 2020 had fallen 38% from Q2 2019. That increased to 48% when looking at North America alone. Engine sales were down 47%, and power generation revenues declined by 37%. While Cummins was able to achieve positive net income because of a quick ramp-up in production in China after the worst of the virus had passed there, it was less than half of net income from Q2 2019.
Interested in presenting a webinar with Power Systems Research? It could be an effective marketing opportunity for your company if COVID-19 continues to shutdown industry gatherings this year as it did in 2020.
Jim Downey talks with Sarah Jensen from OEM Off-Highway for their OEM Industry Update podcast. We present it here with their permission.
On this week’s episode of OEM Industry Update, we spoke with Jim Downey, Vice President-Global Data Products, Power Systems Research, about the current state of the North American mining equipment market. He says mining equipment production is expected to rebound 13% in 2021 and continue growing over the next 5 years.
Welcome to the PSR PowerTALK podcast produced by Power Systems Research.
00:14 Sarah Jensen:
Welcome to OEM industry update. A weekly podcast examining the latest news and technology trends impacting product development teams in the heavy duty on and off-highway equipment industry.
The Q3 2021 Power Systems Research Truck Production Index (PSR-TPI) declined 10.7% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2021, from Q2 2021. At the same time, the index dropped 17% on a YoY basis.
Except for China, all regions are expected to experience solid commercial vehicle demand growth this year and into 2022. Chinese heavy truck demand is expected to decline this year primarily due to the implementation of the China VI emission regulations that adds cost to the vehicles but no significant improvement in fuel economy.
The PSR-TPI measures truck production globally and across six regions: North America, China, Europe, South America, Japan & Korea and Emerging Markets.
This data comes from OE Link™, the proprietary database maintained by Power Systems Research.
Global Index. Overall, medium, and heavy truck demand will finish the year on a strong note and continued strength is expected into 2022. On-going supply chain disruptions will continue to impact production throughout the rest of the year and well into 2022.
6,800 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Hydraulic Power Units to be produced in the United States during 2022.
A Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU) usually refers to a self-contained, free-standing engine assembly that is used to drive one piece of equipment. HPUs are powered by internal combustion engines or AC/DC electric motors.
This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.
Market Share: Dominating production of HPUs in NA is Stanley Hydraulic with 49% of total units produced. In second position is Great Northern (Brave) with 9.5%. Tradewinds Powers is third with 8%.
Trends: Production of HPUs in the US increased 22% from 2020 to 2021. Production is expected to increase another 6% from in 2022. Hydraulic Power Units (power packs) are used in a variety of applications and industries ranging from marine, construction and military applications.
The overall gain in 2022 is attributed to the increase in construction and marine related activities. This product segment will continue to increase steadily over the next 5 years as warranted by current economic conditions and related demands. Expect an additional 10% increase by 2025. PSR
Carol Turner is Senior Analyst, Global Operations, for Power Systems Research
The May issue of the Alternative Power Report produced by Power Systems Research contains several articles that discuss plans for production of alternative power sources. These include articles on VW’s plans to build its largest battery factory in Canada, Cummins decision to invest $1 billion in a hydrogen fuel network plus a report Caterpillar and NMG joining forces.
Monthly news and analysis from PSR’s experts
World Headquarters
St. Paul, MN USA
Detroit Regional Sales
Ann Arbor, MI USA
Campinas, Brazil
