New Volvo Penta BESS hardware on display at Bauma

Volvo Penta has unveiled its new BESS subsystem at Bauma 2025, being held in Munich, Germany from April 7-13.

Mobile versions of the BESS can be used to charge electric or electrified machines on a work site. These can be recharged when needed at a remote location and returned to support machine charging.

Larger permanent installations using multiple units can be used as backup power for critical infrastructure, including data centres.

Volvo Penta BESS uses a liquid cooling system (Photo: Power Progress)

The technology is delivered from Volvo Penta to the BESS manufacturer, which then delivers the finished unit to the customer.

This supports a rapid turnaround time; with defined application parameters, a smaller BESS unit could potentially be delivered to the customer in about three months.

Key features include the cube battery packs, which offer a ‘favourable’ C-rating that allow manufacturers to provide a more compact solution that can charge and discharge at speed.

The integration-ready BESS features battery packs already used in off- and on-highway applications, meaning that it is already certified for transportation.

This means that the BESS is a useful addition to rental fleets, who can potentially build up the units based on Volvo Penta tech to fulfil customer requirements.

In addition to the hardware/software for the units, Volvo Penta can also offer analysis of the correct BESS power supply, based on number of machines on a given site, load and performance, shift patterns, etc.

While the BESS can operate as a standalone unit, it can also be used in a hybrid setup, where a gen set using renewable fuel can support charging to maintain availability.

Further, the BESS can deliver power while a gen set is starting, or the two power sources can be used in conjunction to deliver a higher power output during peak loads. This is also useful in supporting peak shaving, which can reduce the amount of power taken from the grid and the related cost per unit.