Lynch grows hybrid fleet

Hertfordshire-based L Lynch Plant Hire has started the year by taking delivery of a 23-tonne Komatsu HB215LC-3 hybrid excavator.Lynch has a further nine hybrid excavators on order from Komatsu for delivery in 2021, including its first HB365-3, a 36-tonner.This will take the total number of hybrid machines in the Lynch fleet to more than 20 units – the biggest such fleet in the UK, it says. The company has been buying hybrid machines since 2018.While hybrid excavators do still rely in diesel engines primarily, in Komatsu’s system the electric swing motor-generator captures and regenerates energy as the upper structure slows down and converts it into electric energy. The regenerated energy is stored in the capacitor that can be used to swing, or by the generator-motor to help the engine accelerate. In this way, the hybrid system reduces fuel consumption by 15%, the manufacturer claims.