Volvo CE unveils electric compact excavator concept

At the Volvo Group Innovation Summit in London, Volvo Construction Equipment (CE) unveiled the EX2 which it claims is a fully electric concept compact excavator that delivers zero emissions, ten times higher efficiency, ten times lower noise levels and reduced total cost of ownership.

The EX2 was one of many innovations from the group displayed in London, including an autonomous refuse truck from Volvo Trucks and an electric bus from Volvo Buses.

The innovation summit centred on infrastructure and transport in cities of the future, and focused on how the industry can have a positive impact on society through increased transport efficiency, reduced environmental impact and improved traffic safety.

The Volvo Group defines electro-mobility as ‘commercial vehicles and machines that can utilise an electrical motor to propel or to perform the primary purpose of the machine’.

To make the EX2 prototype fully electric, Volvo CE is replacing the combustion engine with two lithium ion batteries, totalling 38KWh, which store enough energy to operate the machine for eight hours in an intense application, such as digging the ground.

It is replacing the hydraulic architecture with an electric structure which incorporates electromechanical linear actuators that help to optimise the transmission chain.

Removing the hydraulic system and the combustion engine, as well as reducing the cooling needs, has led to significantly lower noise levels. At this stage, the EX2 is purely a research project, and there are currently no plans for industrialisation.

“Volvo CE is committed to contributing to sustainable development,” says marketing and product portfolio senior vice president Thomas Bitter.

“At Volvo CE we are developing technologies connected to electro-mobility, intelligent machines and total site solutions that will benefit our customers and the environment by contributing to increased machine performance, productivity, efficiency, safety and sustainability,” says Bitter.

The EX2 stemmed from the company’s earlier ELEXC research project, partly financed by the French government as well as various funding bodies in France.

Volvo CE worked with a team of six partner companies which all contributed towards the seven million Euro project. The ELEXC work started in 2012 and concluded in 2015, Volvo CE has since been working on other research projects connected to the EX2, such as durability tests.

“The electrification of construction equipment will produce cleaner, quieter and more efficient machines – this represents the future of our industry,” says Ahcène Nedjimi, electrics and electronics systems lead engineer and EX2 project leader.

“The EX2 is a revolutionary machine. It could easily be used in densely populated areas without disturbing people – even at night,” says Nedjimi.

“The prototype machine delivers the same power and force as its conventional counterpart, as well as faster speeds in combined movements. And all of this has been achieved without compromising on machine performance, ensuring customer needs are fulfilled,” he says.