New battery tech added to electric loaders

Avant’s e5 compact loader is now available with 23kW and 13kW batteries. (Photo: KHL)

Finland-based manufacturer Avant Tecno has launched two electric compact loaders equipped with its new battery technology.

Presented at the Bauma 2022 construction exhibition currently taking place in Munich, Germany, the Avant e5-27 and Avant e5-13 compact loaders are part of the manufacturer’s e-Series range and are variants its existing e5 machine - which is itself based the diesel powered Avant 500 series machines.

The electric machines, which have a load capacity of 900kg and a lift height of 2.8 metres, feature the new OptiTemp battery packs produced by Avant Tecno’s new subsidiary, Avant Power.

Said to have twice the capacity of similar products from other manufacturers, the new OptiTemp battery packs feature a new thermal management system that ensures the machines can operate with the same capacity in both hot weather and in cold weather - in temperatures as low as -30°C (-22°F).

Mikko Piepponen, Chief Operating Officer at Avant Power, said, “After working with electric loaders and batteries for decades, we realized that there was no battery pack in the world that would be perfectly optimized for compact loaders. That’s why we decided to start making batteries ourselves.”

The fully electric Avant e5-27 and e5-13 compact loaders - so named for the 27 and 13kW of power provided by their battery packs - can operate for a full working day on a single charge. 

“As the battery is plugged into a charger, the temperature control system is automatically switched on,” said Avant.

“When the workday starts and the loader is unplugged, the battery temperature is optimized for hard work and adjusted to the prevailing weather conditions.”

While the models have standard overnight charge times of five hours for the e5-13 model and 10 hours for the e5-27, they are available with rapid charging stations that dramatically reduce the time its takes to charge the machines.