Heavy-duty intralogistics
Georg Kramp GmbH & Co. KG
Background
Georg Kramp GmbH specialises in heavy-duty logistics and carries out industrial relocations and special transports worldwide, moving loads up to 40 tonnes. When heavy machinery must be moved under confined conditions — without a fixed track, without cables, precisely and safely — the ROBOT-40 comes in: an autonomous transport system that operates wirelessly and manoeuvres where conventional equipment cannot reach.
The partnership between Hellpower and Georg Kramp GmbH has been in place since 2013, established through a personal referral at the moment when the ROBOT-40 prototype was being developed.
The problem
No available battery system met the requirements. Lead-acid was ruled out: too bulky, too heavy, and unable to deliver the performance needed for this payload in this space. The vehicle had very specific installation dimensions — no standard housing came close. And the power requirements for 40-tonne operation were beyond what catalogue products delivered.
Georg Kramp GmbH was among the early adopters who switched to lithium in a heavy-duty specialist vehicle at a time when that was not yet common practice. Buying an off-the-shelf battery was not an option.
Requirements
- ✓Purpose-built housing: dimensions matched exactly to the available space in the ROBOT-40
- ✓Performance for 40-tonne payload: capacity and discharge power calculated for the vehicle's energy demand
- ✓Battery swap system: fast exchange during shift operations without modifying the vehicle
- ✓Matched chargers: charging and battery system specified as a coordinated unit
- ✓Worldwide operation: reliable performance in Japan, Europe and the USA across differing conditions
Solution
Hellpower developed two lithium battery packs with purpose-built housings. The starting point was the available installation space in the vehicle — the housings were designed to fit precisely without altering the vehicle structure.
The capacity and discharge performance of the packs were calculated based on the actual energy demand for 40-tonne operation. Together with partner companies, a battery swap system was developed that enables a fast exchange in continuous shift operation.
The chargers were matched to the battery packs and delivered together with them — charge time, charge-current profile and BMS-to-charger communication were aligned. The result is an integrated system in which no standard component undermines any other.
Outcome
Since 2013, the ROBOT-40 has run on Hellpower battery packs. The vehicle moves heavy machinery up to 40 tonnes — wirelessly, autonomously and reliably — in Japan, Europe and the USA. No standard battery has offered an alternative since: the housing geometry and performance parameters are so specific that the solution remains one of a kind.
"With Hellpower we finally found a partner who doesn't just supply batteries but who genuinely understood our challenge. Our application was too specific for standard solutions — and Hellpower developed one that fits exactly. This wasn't a supplier relationship — it was a real development partnership."