Caterpillar is to celebrate 100 years at CES 2025 in Las Vegas in January with an exhibition entitled The Next 100 Years: Experience What’s Possible, which will include a Cat 972 hybrid wheel loader, fitted with new range extending electric hybrid technology
The will feature a combination of technologies and expertise designed to highlight some of the ways Caterpillar is evolving with customers through the energy transition.
The Centennial Celebration will also provide visitors with the opportunity to reflect on the company’s global impact over the last century.
“Caterpillar was founded in 1925 with an innovative spirit, aimed at helping our customers overcome practical problems and challenges. Over the past 100 years, the company has built on a revolutionary legacy – creating industry-leading products, technologies, services and solutions,” says Rob Hoenes, senior vice president of Caterpillar’s Electrification and Energy Solutions division.
Taking centre stage at the Caterpillar exhibit will be a 55,000-lbs. Cat 972 Wheel Loader featuring a technical demonstrator Extended Range Electrified Machine hybrid retrofit. The demonstrator maintains or exceeds performance similar to a diesel machine and does not require DC charging. The retrofit could eliminate the need for additional electrical infrastructure at job sites.
“What sets this demonstrator apart from other Cat battery electric machines is an additional power source,” says Rob Janssen, vice president and general manager of Caterpillar’s Electrification and Energy Solutions division. “In this case, it’s a conventional diesel generator running AC power to a rectifier, which converts energy from AC to DC. The energy created is used to charge the battery, drive the machine or both.”
This solution provides an attractive option for customers who want to reduce their emissions but aren’t yet prepared to transition completely to battery electric equipment. The machines conveniently charge overnight using a standard 240V utility grid connection.
It also means machines approaching the end of their service life have the potential to be rebuilt and repowered, enabling them to operate effectively in a reduced-carbon future. These machines can run solely on zero-emission battery power for several hours at a time, and when longer operation is needed, they can switch to hybrid mode using electricity from an onboard generator set.
Visitors to the Caterpillar exhibit will also experience a virtual job site of the future showcasing examples of the infrastructure required to support electrified job sites, varying charging schedules, and the complexities of a job site powered by the full Caterpillar ecosystem.
The Caterpillar stand will also demonstrate Caterpillar Command, with a remote operating station on the show floor to allow attendees to operate Cat machines physically working at the Caterpillar Tinaja Hills Demonstration and Learning Center in Green Valley, Arizona, 445 miles away.
Also demonstrated will be VisionLink, the cloud-based software application designed to take the guesswork out of fleet management by providing key insights to maximize performance – regardless of fleet size or equipment manufacturer.
Actionable equipment performance data is delivered to a customer’s desktop or mobile device to help customers make informed decisions geared toward analysing performance and improving productivity.
“Our industry-leading digital capabilities convey a distinct competitive advantage. Our customers have autonomous haul truck working 24/7 around the world and have moved nearly 9 billion tonnes,” Hoenes added. “We also offer autonomous dozers, drills, wheel loaders and compactors. Our customers are using these technologies to increase the efficiency, output, safety — and ultimately, the value — of their operations.”
Another exhibit feature, the Centennial Corridor, will allow visitors to experience the Caterpillar legacy firsthand. The company’s first 10 decades will be represented, enabling attendees to recognize the significant role Caterpillar has played in building a better, more sustainable world and its contributions to society at large.
CES 2025 runs from January 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Caterpillar exhibit is in the center’s West Hall, booth #6416.
