Perkins full electric at bauma Munich

In this low profile 2025 edition of bauma Munich, in terms of the daring of engine manufacturers, Perkins has been the least conservative. By low-profile we refer to the substantial impasse we have described in this post. Few previews and a few style exercises. Here, Perkins’ full electric at bauma 2025 seemed to us more functional and tangible than some BEV drivelines. The application is peculiar and still at the prototype stage, but it replaces an internal combustion engine, also by Perkins, and appears to be the answer to those who blamed Perkins (and Caterpillar) of proceeding half-heartedly in the electric road map.

At bauma Perkins showed us its very full electric module

Please find below the lead of the article on the Perkins booth at bauma 2025, which will be available very soon. We refer you to reading the magazine to explore the concept further.

“All in one? Magic box? Call it what you will. In fact, Perkins has given an answer to those who wondered about the usefulness of presenting batteries without the integration of a complete powertrain. The centerpiece of the stand was a drop-in electric powertrain, designed to simplify electrification for off-highway OEMs. The demonstrator, installed in a McElroy TracStar 900i pipe fusion machine, replaces a 3.6L Perkins 904 Series diesel engine. The electric power unit matches the mechanical and electrical mounting points of the diesel it replaces, enabling OEMs to electrify existing platforms with minimal re-engineering. “This is a complete electric power system in a box,” said Paul Muller, Technical Sales Manager at Perkins. “It includes the battery, inverters, motors, onboard charger, cooling system, control logic, and telematics – all fully integrated into a compact, plug-and-play module.”

The electric capable of ‘mimicking’ the ICE

The system mimics legacy engine signals, such as oil pressure, enabling seamless operation with machines that expect these inputs to function. This level of emulation ensures full compatibility with existing machine controls and reduces development time for OEMs. “Even if a machine requires an oil pressure signal to run, this unit can simulate it, allowing the electric system to behave just like a diesel engine from the control system’s point of view.”

Electric and also thermic. Project COEUS

Project Coeus sees Perkins partner with e-powertrain specialists Equipmake and Loughborough University’s Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, to develop an innovative, advanced configurable-fuel drop-in hybrid power unit, as a direct replacement for a diesel engine. The four fuels selected for inclusion in Project Coeus – ethanol, methanol, bio-methane and hydrogen – have one characteristic in common: they are all spark-ignited fuels, to create the common configurable combustion platform on which the project relies. The first phase of the project is the development of a 180-280 kW hybrid power system, to deliver a robust and trusted fuel configurable plug and play solution ​that produces a consistent power performance, regardless of the fuel type, ensuring long-term flexibility for the user.