Does anyone know of electric skids or other compact equipment? If so, do you have any ideas where they may be used, Mines? Tunnels? Other indoor environment? Have you encountered night work in city centers where there are noise/pollution restrictions that would require use of electric vehicles? The thinking is that with the new Obama administration stress on Green, there may be some potential there... .
We have a customer that buys mini excavators from us and converts them to electric. These are small 2,800 lb machines. Only way to make it work is with a powered generator outside. You just can't work a battery powered machine that long. He uses it in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. We are also a Hyster forklift dealer and have investigated a full AC machine, but the industrial batteries that are required would be huge compared to the corresponding diesel engine.
I saw a couple being used inside a IBM building once.
That would be awesome to fully develop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnIwny1C86k Here is where they simply removed the engine and powered it electrically. I have always wondered why there was not an electrically driven loader instead of hydrostatic.