Norrhydro seeks to reinvent hydraulics

Some might be surprised to learn that the sparsely populated country of Finland – which boasts roughly 5.6 million inhabitants and is most known for its vast stretches of forest – is also a recognized global leader in technology. It is widely regarded for its information and communications technology, software development and services, clean tech and sustainable solutions and other digital offerings.

Norrhydro’s NorrDigi offerings center around helping OEMs improve equipment productivity and energy efficiency. (Photo: Becky Schultz)

In addition, the country is home to such innovators as Norrhydro, a supplier of hydraulic cylinders and digital hydraulic solutions. Based in Rovaniemi in the northern part of the country, Norrhydro has spent the past 40 years supplying the off-highway market, particularly in mining and forestry applications. Its OEM clients – such as Sandvik and Ponsse – are largely Scandinavian but sell machines across the globe.

“We are global in the sense that our products then go with those OEMs to wherever the machines end up, and that’s been the trade for many years,” said Carl Mattson, director, Digital Business, Norrhydro.

Though the company has been active in hydraulic cylinders since it was founded in 1985, it recognized that the traditional hydraulic system is not very efficient and “needs to kind of reinvent itself,” Mattson commented.

Norrhydro chose to take an active role in that reinvention, exploring ways to help OEMs improve productivity and energy efficiency. The result is two unique solutions: the NorrDigi MCC multi-chamber cylinder technology and the NorrDigi EMA electromechanical linear motion system.

Optimized energy

The NorrDigi MCC is an advanced solution consisting of multi-chamber cylinders, piston accumulators and an electronic control unit (NorrECU). Supporting technologies include the proprietary software, sensors, microprocessors and directional control valves.

“In a traditional cylinder, you have two chambers, one pushing and one pulling. We have four chambers,” said Mattson. “So, we doubled the area that we’re using, and that area is directly connected to the force generated by oil flow.”

The NorrDigi MCC consists of multi-chamber cylinders, piston accumulators and an electronic control unit. (Photo: Becky Schultz)

According to the company, those four chambers add to the number of working stages that enable optimized cylinder force generation. Mattson compared it to having multiple gears on a bicycle.

“Instead of having two gears on your bicycle, you have 16 gears. Every time you want to achieve a certain speed or force, you have exactly the right step for that… You use only the energy required for that certain movement,” he explained. “You’re shifting gear in order to be the most efficient where you want to be, which basically means you’re using a lot less energy.”

With NorrDigi MCC, rather than gears, there are 16 working stages – four chambers with four push/pull cycles per cylinder. These multiple force states minimize the need for throttling and result in smoother, more precise and efficient movements.

For even greater efficiency, the system stores kinetic energy in high-pressure piston accumulators, with the stored energy used only when required, such as for short-term boosts during heavy lifting.

The cumulative result, Norrhydro asserted, can be up to 70% energy recovery, up to 80% reduction in energy consumption and up to 50% fuel savings, depending on the operation and working conditions.

“It’s having the right force each and every time, plus having regenerated energy storage to give you help when you need that peak power,” said Mattson.

OEM case study

The NorrDigi MCC has already found a place in specialized lift equipment. For example, in October 2024, Norrhydro announced a multi-year agreement with U.S.-based motion and control solutions provider Aberdeen Dynamics to bring the technology to onshore oil rig pipe lifting applications in the U.S. oil and gas market.

The four chambers of the NorrDigi MCC add to the number of working stages that enable optimized cylinder force generation. (Photo: Becky Schultz)

Norrhydro has also been working with Volvo Construction Equipment since late 2015 in development of the NorrDigi MCC, and more recently on a project to replace the conventional hydraulics of a Volvo EC300E excavator. The conventional hydraulic system was removed and replaced with the NorrDigi MCC solution.

The control of major functions of the machine are managed through the system software. “In order to make this work to the levels that we’re saying here, we as Norrhydro have to take full control,” Mattson pointed out. “Everything within the machine, whatever is happening in terms of movements, is controlled by [the system]. So, it’s not only a special cylinder and hardware, it’s software that distributes the power to different functions that is at the core of our MCC system.

“Because we go so deep into the hydraulic functions, it means we basically have to kind of redesign the machine,” he continued. “There are lots of things that need to be in place, so this is obviously something that we do as a project. We don’t sell anything off the shelf.”

More than 2,000 hours of testing were conducted on the Volvo 30-ton excavator (EC300E), which showed a roughly 50% fuel efficiency improvement compared to the same size conventional machine, and potential emissions reduction of 300 to 350 tons of CO2 over the machine’s lifecycle.

“We are at that stage where we have the blueprint for the production version. We have everything in place,” said Mattson. “Now the control needs to be at such a level that the operator says, ‘Yes, this is really good in terms of power and controllability. I like this.’ That’s what Volvo wants to hear. Once we’re at that point, we’re good to go.”

Fully electric option

Norrhydro’s other solution, the NorrDigi EMA, is designed to replace traditional hydraulic systems and enable complete electrification for mobile machinery and industrial applications. It consists of electromechanical solutions incorporating electric cylinders and advanced control software developed by Norrhydro, which are paired with motors, sensors, inverters and control units from known global suppliers.

Linear actuation of the cylinder is achieved via an electric motor and a ball screw. “It’s a totally oil-free solution,” said Mattson. “It is disconnected from anything that has to do with a hydraulic oil line.”

The NorrDigi EMA is designed to replace traditional hydraulic systems in mobile and industrial machinery. (Photo: Becky Schultz)

Intelligent motion control based on individual parameter settings is achieved through the company’s proprietary control software.

The NorrDigi EMA is targeted to a niche group of customers. “We come from this mindset of doing [applications] that are used in tough environments. So, in this case, we go for the high-end market like marine and offshore environment for example,” said Mattson.

Such applications tend to mean lower volumes for which companies still need engineering support but may find working with larger suppliers cost prohibitive.

“It’s a smaller market, it’s project based and we’re happy with that,” Mattson said. “For us, that market is big enough.”

The gains for these customers can be dramatic. “In some cases, energy efficiency using an electric motor is 80% to 90% compared to a combustion engine, which is maybe 30%,” Mattson asserted. “Having a fully electrical machine, you could probably get double the amount of hours on a single charge just by using a more efficient type of hydraulics.

“What we really want to do is make sure that electrification can happen and starts to make sense financially,” he continued. “The big move for EMAs comes when economics of scale kicks in, as we have witnessed in electrical vehicles.”

While Mattson acknowledged that reinventing hydraulics is not the full solution, “it’s an important part of the transformation and we’re very happy to be part of that.”