ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION
The ECR25 Electric helped to
build a Gold Medal-winning
garden at London’s Chelsea
Flower Show in May 2019
The ECR25 Electric travelled directly from Munich to
London, where it helped construct the Morgan Stanley
Garden at the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual
Chelsea Flower Show. “That was the first mission in real
conditions,” says Nedjimi. “This intense workzone, right in
the heart of London, offered the perfect arena to showcase
its capabilities in urban environments. Chris Beardshaw,
the designer, actually won the event’s Gold Medal.”
Volvo CE’s clean machine was in keeping with
Beardshaw’s aim of creating a garden with a light carbon
footprint, featuring innovations like ultra-low carbon concrete.
Following the release of the ECR25 Electric and L25 Electric,
Volvo CE will proceed to expand their battery-powered
compact range with further Electric models in its E15-EC27
excavator and L20-L28 wheel loader ranges in 2020.
iVTInternational.com November 2019 23
swivel-joints. Divorcing hydraulics
from engine mass provides space to
accommodate bulky battery packs.
“The best available technology
gives us 1.5m3 of batteries,” says
Brehmer. “In a classical excavator
that would mean losing
compactness and becoming more
static. But our architecture allows us
to add 1.5m3 without compromising
urban jobsite manoeuvrability.”
This liberating architecture
means the versatile 12MTX works as
an excavator, loader, telehandler and
tool-carrier, spending just 25% of
work-time idling, compared to 70%
for normal excavators. High
utilisation creates a need for high
energy autonomy.
Battery improvements
“This multipurpose machine never
stops,” says Brehmer. “It digs, loads,
handles pallets. When working,
they’re always in motion. People fear
switching to electric because of
energy autonomy.”
Telematics data form the 12MTX
suggested the e12 required eight
hours of energy autonomy. Its first
prototype provided 146KWh using
lithium-iron phosphate batteries,
but its successor achieves 160KWh
with an alternative technology, not
VOLVO CE’S ECR25 ELECTRIC
Volvo CE unveiled its production-pending ECR25 Electric
and L25 Electric machines to a rapturous reception at
Bauma Munich in April 2019. “There was a lot of positive
interest,” says Volvo CE’s Ahcène Nedjimi. “I didn’t even
have time to visit the rest of the fair, because I was fully
dedicated to answering questions from customers.”
The ECR25 Electric’s single motor powers both
machine and hydraulics, whereas the L25 Electric,
suitable for light infrastructure work, landscaping and
agriculture, has two dedicated motors with drivetrain and
hydraulics decoupled to improve efficiency. Both run on
lithium-ion batteries reckoned to store enough energy for
8-hour autonomy in typical machine applications. Both
have on-board chargers for overnight use, with a
fast-charge option available.
yet announced. “We wanted to
ensure it was the best technology,”
says Brehmer. “Power density and
safety are key inputs, together with
lifetime. A mobile machine still
needs 80% battery capacity
after eight years. It’s about volume,
price, integration, assembly and
maintaining machine balance and
dynamic behaviour.”
Volvo CE’s Nedjimi also predicts
that advances in battery technology
will aid the further development of
electric off-highway machinery.
“Battery density is continuously
improving by 5-10% annually and we
anticipate disruptive technologies
like solid-state batteries, which are
safer and could offer twice the
energy-density of conventional
BELOW: The first e12
prototype provided 146KWh
with lithium-iron phosphate
batteries. Now Mecalac
is promising a further
advancement
/iVTInternational.com
