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Electrification Kit for Heavy Machinery: Dos and Don’ts

Learn how to choose an electrification kit for heavy machinery. Avoid “one-size-fits-all” pitfalls with practical dos and don’ts for motors, inverters, batteries, and charging. 

The Illusion of a Universal Fit

An electrification kit is generally a system made from a list of pre-selected components that cover as wide of an operation area as possible, so that it would fit many different size machines and use-cases. That sounds efficient, but it also means the kit rarely fits any single machine perfectly. 

Typical “universal kit” problems in heavy machinery electrification

Heavy equipment platforms differ by brand, size, layout, duty cycle, and ambient conditions. So a universal electrification kit almost always forces compromises. 

  • Packaging mismatch: Kits often come in fixed-size containers marketed as “easy to install,” but real machines have distributed free space across multiple zones.
 
  • Integration pain: A container that fits Machine A may block service access, cooling paths, or structural mounting points in Machine B.
 
  • Aesthetics and maintainability: Large add-on boxes can look out of place and complicate everyday service work.
Powertrain Engineering

Why selecting the right components matters

In electric and hybrid powertrains, poor component choices can lead to compromised performance. They can even push the whole system into the wrong operating region. 

The electric motors might be similarly over- or undersized, making the powertrain inefficient. For example, matching the electric motor nominal operation point incorrectly could decrease the powertrain efficiency over 10%, while selecting the exactly correct winding for speed and torque leads to efficiencies up to 96%.  

Good practice:

  • Size for the actual duty cycle, not only peak headline power
  • Match motor speed/torque needs with the correct winding / configuration
  • Validate efficiency where the machine spends most of its time, not just at one point

Energy storage selection (battery chemistry, packaging, and ambient)

It’s imperative to realize that one solution does not fit all when it comes to lithium-ion battery systems. The machine ambience, machine duty cycle and charging strategy should guide the selection. When an electric powertrain kit provider carries only one battery solution and chemistry in their catalogue, the customer is in danger to be forced making a compromise is system specification. In worst case, selecting the wrong battery system and or chemistry will limit the machine operation. 

Key factors that should drive battery system selection:

  • Machine ambience: temperature range, dust/water exposure, vibration, shock loads
  • Duty cycle: continuous power demand, regen profile, peaks vs steady-state work 
  • Charging strategy: CCS/MCS needs, charge windows, infrastructure constraints 
  • Ensure reliable performance – power up with a stable and optimized energy flow
  • Available volume and mass budget: space is never identical between machines 

Risks of “single-battery-catalog” kit providers:

  • You may be forced into a compromise in system specification
  • Worst case: the wrong chemistry/packaging limits runtime, charge performance, or usable power

Customized Solutions Deliver Quality Results

A strong electrification kit approach doesn’t mean reinventing everything each time. It means standardizing smartly while still fitting real machines.  

What “customized but scalable” looks like

  • Designing with the customer’s full product portfolio in mind 
 
  • Minimizing vendor count without forcing one oversized solution everywhere 
 
  • Treating batteries as a system: cell chemistry + thermal management + safety + integration
Electrification kit

A common real-world example of what goes wrong

As an example, we have seen kits where the inverter and motor have been selected to handle over 250 kW constant power, but the same setup is also used for machines that require only 80 kW constant power, which compromises the electric powertrain efficiency.  

Experience has proven that the quality of battery solutions varies greatly even though on paper the systems would seem nearly identical. In battery electric and hybrid powertrains, the battery system is commonly the most expensive component and selecting the wrong one could prove to be very costly.   

Why can oversizing components reduce efficiency?

Because the drivetrain operates away from its most efficient region, increasing losses and heat, especially in the most common operating range.

Chemistry impacts charge performance, cold/heat behavior, lifetime, safety margins, and packaging needs. Often more than spec sheets suggest.

Speak with an expert

If you’re evaluating an electric powertrain kit for heavy machinery, ask:

  • What duty-cycle data was used to size the motor, inverter, and battery? 
  • Where does the system run on its efficiency map during typical work? 
  • What battery chemistry options exist—and how are they chosen? 
  • What’s the thermal strategy (cooling architecture, hot spots, ambient limits)? 
  • How is the kit packaged across the machine (central box vs distributed modules)? 
  • How are charging standards and power levels handled (today and future)? 
  • What’s the plan for diagnostics, remote support, and service safety? 

Easy way to start

Are you building your first electric or hybrid prototype, upgrading an existing machine (retrofit), or preparing a design for production? Hevtec supports OEMs and machine builders by turning electrification into a reliable, integration-ready system.

A structured solution assessment will be conducted to ensure the proposed solution meet functional and operational requirements:

  1. Technical Discovery Call
  2. Requirements & Duty Cycle Analysis
  3. EV Components and Supplier Mapping
  4. Recommendation Package
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