Volvo Construction Equipment, Rolls-Royce, and Air Burners worked closely together to develop an innovative wood-burning charger to support off-grid electric vehicle/equipment charging. According to Air Burners, its BioCharger can generate electricity to enable on-site charging sessions for off-grid activities.
What’s special about the BioCharger?
The BioCharger utilizes an “air curtain technology” that burns wood and other waste in a closed-loop system. It is basically a 450 kWh charging station that can charge multiple battery-based machines and tools.
The system converts the induced heat into electric power. Then, it stores the accumulated energy in a connected Battery Storage Module (BSM).
The stored energy can prove effective in charging all-electric vehicles, construction machines, and portable power tools on a job site, particularly when the location is in the woods.
“While electric machinery becomes increasingly popular in the fight against climate change, when it comes to forest management, we must have practical solutions for charging electric machinery away from traditional power sources. The Air Burners BioCharger provides that solution … in an economical and environmentally conscious way.”
Brian O’Connor, Air Burners President
Presented below are the key specifications of the BioCharger:
| General Information | Specs |
| THROUGH-PUT | 6-8 tons/hr |
| POWER GENERATION | 450 kWh (optional 700kWh) |
| PRICE | $1,700,000 (approx.) |
| APPROX. WEIGHT | 28,000 lbs |
| OVERALL DIMENSIONS | L x W x H 28′ x 7′ 5″ x 9′ |
Benefits
The cutting-edge charging technology from Air Burners enables easy and fast access to charging when work is ongoing in remote areas off the grid.
Apart from that, it also aids in reducing enormous amounts of wood waste in the United States. According to the press release, wood waste reaches a whopping 70 million tons every year. However, only 48% of that total gets recycled. The majority of the remaining waste is either disposed of through open burning or decomposition.
Alarmingly, it generates particles and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The BioCharger’s capability to cut up to 20 tons of vegetative waste every hour without greenhouse emissions offers a potentially effective solution to this problem.
Partner contributions
Rolls-Royce aided in the development of the BSM utilized by the BioCharger.
“The BioCharger is a unique application for our mtu EnergyPack battery energy storage system that I think shows just how versatile energy storage can be.”
Kevin McKinney, Sales Director at Rolls-Royce Solutions America
On the other hand, Volvo Construction Equipment helped Air Burners verify the BioCharger’s charging capacities by providing its all-new EC230 Electric 23-ton crawler excavator.
“This collaboration with Air Burners for the BioCharger allows us to demonstrate one of the more non-conventional sources to fast-charge our equipment in off-grid locations.”
Dr. Ray Gallant, vice president of sustainability and productivity services, Volvo Construction Equipment
As of now, the partners are working to complete BioCharger’s pilot testing throughout North America with Volvo CE’s EC230 Electric. Air Burners aims to officially commercialize the cutting-edge BioCharger in 2025.
