In recent years, many construction equipment manufacturers have presented electrical products to limit CO2 emissions. However, these only provide a partial answer, said Mecalac, notably because they are limited to small machines, such as 1.5tonne mini-excavators. The need for medium-sized machines on urban construction sites has not yet been met.
Additionally, the small vehicles have limited autonomy – mostly between 1.5 to 4 hours – and so do not allow a full day of work before needing to recharge.
As a result, Mecalac has launched a zero-emission ecosystem for urban worksites that it says is the first range of medium-sized electric products.
The company’s new products includes the 11tonne e12 excavator, the 1000-litre es1000 swing loader and the six-ton ed6 site dumper. With these, all earthmoving operations (digging, loading, and transporting) can now be carried out with emission-free machines on a larger scale then previously.
The main reason explaining the absence of medium- sized electric machines on the market is the optimization power management to ensure sufficient autonomy. To overcome this challenge, Mecalac said it has made a technological breakthrough on the hydraulic distribution system, as well as on the energy management of auxiliary systems such as heating and air conditioning, to drastically reduce energy consumption.
