Dewalt has revealed their Ascent Series cordless mower, powered by a new PowerEquip battery system.
There are quite a few different products and technologies being introduced all at once, here’s a summary:
Dewalt Ascent Series: This will be a line of equipment that delivers a “total electric landscaping solution, with smart technology designed to ease the transition from gas to electric.”
Dewalt PowerEquip: A new breed of battery will be needed to power the Ascent Series equipment. PowerEquip will be a battery subscription program that provides a customized battery supply to match real-world power needs.
Dewalt H-E-2: The new mower will feature a 60″ cutting deck and technology that “will take cut quality and performance to a new level.”
Dewalt GroundCommand: The web app will offer real-time and remote operational status of each machine.
The first Ascent Series cordless mower (C-60) will feature a H-E-2 high efficiency cutting deck, with 3 spindles, each with dual-blade technology and 4 cutting surfaces.
The 60″ deck is said to be engineered for easier airflow to help process and clear grass while avoiding clumping.
PowerEquip consists of 60V 3.2kWh lithium ion batteries that can be swapped in and out of the equipment for all-day runtime.
Dewalt plans to offer a battery subscription program to help landscapers reduce upfront battery investments compared to purchasing batteries.
The subscription program will offer provide easy battery exchanges and support.
The Ascent mower can hold up to 5 batteries. Given the specs provided, that means each mower can pack up to a whopping 16kWh of energy on-board.
For comparison purposes, Dewalt’s largest cordless power tool battery to date, their FlexVolt 15Ah battery, holds 0.30 kWh of energy.
Thus, a single Dewalt PowerEquip battery has more than 10X the energy storage of a FlexVolt 15Ah battery.
With all of an Ascent mower’s battery slots filled, it can draw from more than 53X the energy storage of a single FlexVolt 15Ah battery.
Or, an Ascent mower can be equipped with the Li-ion battery-powered energy capacity of 160 18V/20V Max 5Ah batteries.
With this in mind, the battery subscription program sounds like a good idea.
The first Ascent Series mower, the C-60, will have 2-in-1 crossover functionality where operators can convert it from a standing mower to a sit-down mower and back.
A sit-only model, R-60, will also be available.
Dewalt says that their PowerEquip batteries can be charged in multiple ways to ensure that landscapers never run out of power on the job.
They mention that there will be a charging trailer, a wall-mounted charger, and a charging cart that allows for easy battery swapping in the field.
Is this the tech that professional landscapers have been waiting for?
Many brands have expressed interest in “electrifying” the commercial landscaping industry, but the battery technology has not gotten there yet. Most landscapers today still largely rely on gasoline-engine equipment.
The new Ascent Series and PowerEquip products are set to debut in Fall 2023.
Is this a glimpse at the future of professional landscaping equipment? What else might Dewalt’s massively powerful PowerEquip batteries power?
Here’s the intro video:
