One of the world’s largest construction companies is now testing one of the world’s largest EVs.

Turner Construction Company is conducting a pilot of Volvo Construction Equipment’s 23-ton EC230 Electric excavator. Turner is using the e-excavator on a light manufacturing reconfiguration project for Applied Materials in Silicon Valley. The enormous EV will be used for the placement of deep utilities, backfilling, building pad excavation, compaction and material movement.

“Turner is a great organization for us to partner with to test the capabilities and benefits of a zero-emission machine that is a major advancement in bringing sustainability solutions to our industry,” said Scott Young, Acting President of Volvo CE North America.

“We’re excited to provide operator feedback to equipment manufacturers and help support the low-emission equipment market,” said Turner Construction Project Executive Evan Walker.

One major challenge for EVs on construction job sites is providing sufficient charging power. As part of the EC230 Electric excavator pilot, Sunbelt Rentals is providing a mobile, off-grid energy storage solution. A 600 kWh battery energy storage system BESS will power a mobile fast charger, so the excavator can be recharged over a lunch break to provide sufficient power for a full day’s work.

“A BESS is ideal because the power can be quickly delivered to the machine with ease in remote locations without requiring the machine to move for charging,” said Brent Coffey, Director, Product Line Management for Sunbelt Rentals.

The Turner Construction Company project is one of several pilots Volvo CE has scheduled for the EC230 Electric excavator in North America.

The EC230 Electric has launched in Europe and China, and is expected to be available in North America in 2024. It will join Volvo’s lineup of commercially available battery-electric heavy equipment: three compact excavator models, two compact wheel loader models and an asphalt compactor.

Source: Volvo