Volvo Construction Equipment and Finland’s Norrhydro have developed a digital hydraulic actuator that increases productivity while cutting fuel bills and CO2 emissions in construction applications.

If widely adopted, it could help the industry meet its sustainability ambitions while at the same time improving machine performance.

While the full details of the technology are closely guarded, the Norrhydro patented system, NorrDigi, uses a multi-chamber digital hydraulic actuator that improves system efficiency that much of a machine’s hydraulic system can be discarded or downsized. It removes the need for a main control valve – the heart of a traditional hydraulic system – along with excessive pump capacity, piping and hoses. It uses less energy and offers the prospect for downsizing the engine capacity.

The ongoing validations of the solution have demonstrated both efficiency improvement and an increased machine productivity. With carbon dioxide emissions reduced, it is making a radical cut in the machine’s carbon footprint. Volvo CE and Norrhydro have signed a multi-year agreement where Volvo CE will continue to develop the technology in partnership with Norrhydro, and subsequently aim for first mover advantage. Volvo CE has exclusive rights to its use in its products during the development process.

Unlike traditional cylinders with two chambers – one pushing, one pulling – the digital hydraulic actuator uses four chambers that can be connected in up to 16 different permutations, depending on the load required by the desired operation. “It’s a bit like a 16-speed linear transmission,” says Peter Stambro, Vice President Business Development at Norrhydro. “Multi-chamber cylinders have been around for a while, but what makes our ones exceptional is the way they have been combined with advanced electronic control systems, whose complex algorithms and computational speed allow for instant response, but using only a fraction of the energy for the same machine maneuver or action compared to a traditional system.”