VOLVO CE's EC230, thought to be the largest market-ready battery electric excavator in the world, is now available to buy for selected customers in Europe, having already proved successful in a variety of pilot applications in both Europe and Asia.
The 23-tonne machine was first announced at Bauma China 2020, but with only very limited technical specifications.
Now full details are available. It delivers the same performance as its conventional diesel counterpart, but with the added benefit of zero emissions, low noise, low vibrations, better controllability and lower total cost of ownership.
Operators report that it has not only been achieving a similar digging force as its diesel equivalent, the Volvo EC200E, but doing so with an even faster cycle time, the manufacturer says.
The machine is powered by lithium-ion batteries and has been designed to carry out a full eight hours of work, with a speedy high-power lunch-hour charge.
As a general purpose machine, it is designed for a variety of tasks including extraction, earthmoving and grading for site preparation in the building segment, as well as waste and scrap handling in the recycling and waste segment. It can also be used for forestry purposes.
It is the first of Volvo CE’s excavators in the mid-size range to be made electric and has recently been joined by the 20-tonne L120H Electric Conversion wheel loader.
According to Volvo, the EC230 Electric is so efficient that – even with the energy needed to produce the batteries – total emissions are still lower than its diesel variant.
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These benefits have been evident during the machine’s successful operation on major customer sites such as the Slakthusområdet urban development in Sweden, the country’s largest fossil free worksite, and the Green Construction Site of the Future project in Denmark, where it was put to work on construction of an office building and urban public spaces.
Richard Sjöblom, excavator operator for Skanska on the Slakthusområdet project, has been particularly positive about the ease of charging and the performance of the machine after testing it across different applications.
He said: “If I had the choice of an electric or diesel machine in this size class, I would choose electric as there are so many advantages over a diesel machine.
"When the machine was delivered to site there were many sceptics who thought the machine didn’t have the capacity to last the whole day, but they have all been proved wrong.”
Thomas Bitter, head of technology Volvo CE, said: “The EC230 Electric has proven its sustainable power and is the perfect fit for modern construction sites – fulfilling demanding tasks while being considerate of its surrounding environment.”
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