Dutch civil engineering company Bam Infra Nederland has commissioned yellow-machine builder Wirtgen and Dutch powertrain developer New Electric to convert an asphalt spreading machine into “the world’s first fully electric paver.”

The conversion team replaced the paver’s stage V motor with an electric drive consisting of a 270 kWh battery pack and two “smartly switched” electric motors. The e-paver can run for up to 10 hours on a charge, and makes “considerably less noise than current machines.”

Bam estimates that it will save some 150 liters of diesel fuel per day, and eliminate around 93 tons of CO₂ and 115 kg of nitrogen oxide emissions per year.

Bam built an electric roller in 2020, and aims to have a completely emissions-free set of asphalt machinery on the road by the middle of this year.

Source: Global Construction Review