Charged EVs | Caterpillar’s battery-electric power unit makes its debut in Doppstadt’s spiral shaft separator

Caterpillar’s Battery Electric Power Unit (BEPU) is making its first public appearance at IFAT Munich, installed in a Doppstadt SWS 6 Spiral Shaft Separator. The prototype is the result of roughly a year of collaboration between Caterpillar, Cat dealer Zeppelin Power Systems and Doppstadt, whose SWS 6 processes scrap wood, yard waste, mixed construction and demolition materials and refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

The BEPU is a packaged unit that drops into the same footprint as a diesel engine—same mounting locations, same position in the machine—integrating the battery, motor, inverter, onboard charging, cooling and controls in a single assembly. The design intent is to let OEMs offer an electrified variant without building a new platform: one chassis, one core architecture, switchable powertrain.

For off-highway equipment manufacturers, that’s where electrification usually stalls. Separate electric and diesel platforms mean separate engineering, parts inventories and service procedures. A drop-in power unit that fits an existing installation envelope removes that split. The Doppstadt SWS 6 runs an intermittent duty cycle and is targeted at indoor, urban and regulated environments—applications where diesel exhaust and noise restrictions make the battery case easier to justify.

“The Cat BEPU has enabled the rapid development of this option alongside their diesel variant, with minimal engineering effort,” said Andy Curtis, customer solutions director at Caterpillar Industrial Power Systems Division. “Its intermittent duty cycle, suitability for indoor use, and access to low-power grid energy make the BEPU an ideal fit, with an on-board battery buffering simplifying energy management for end users.”

Source: Caterpillar