Due to the strict CO02 emission measures for construction projects in the Netherlands (and beyond), the demand for electric versions of heavy construction equipment is higher than the current production. This means that there is a growing market for the electrification of construction equipment. Power Battery decided to perform a feasibility study to determine how they can contribute to this trend by offering standardized solutions and battery packs for converting vehicles to zero-emission electric vehicles!

Outline the feasibility study

Laurence Smits is an automotive major at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, who is conducting the research and will process the results into an extensive result for Power Battery. He says about this research: “We discovered that there are roughly 40-50 different types of heavy vehicles that can be used on a construction site. There is a wide variety of applications for these vehicles, but they also have a few things in common, such as their weight (up to 40 tons or more) and huge diesel tanks (up to 1000 liters and more).”

“With a fuel consumption of up to 30 l/h, you can imagine how much CO02 emissions you could reduce for the entire construction project if these vehicles were all EVs,” adds Laurence. In the Netherlands, profit in construction is usually allocated to the construction company that can deliver the best quality for the best price. Nowadays, CO2 emissions are starting to play an increasingly important role in the decision-making processes of local governments and construction companies. Tenders are therefore won by the company that offers the lowest emissions on top of the quality of the construction project itself. That is the basis of the business case for purchasing electric versions of construction equipment.

Electric construction equipment is still scarce

There is a high demand for electric construction equipment in the current market, which is not being met by equipment manufacturers. This means that mass electrification of conventional construction vehicles is economically feasible. Power Battery has spoken to various parties in the market and is looking for long-term partnerships with conversion companies, leasing companies and machine dealers by offering them standardized solutions.

For our research, the next step is to take one type of construction vehicle and design a professional, safe and durable drop-in battery pack that can survive the rough life on a construction site. With this design, we can produce these standard packs in the right volumes. Laurence says: “The next step in my research is to design a battery pack in CAD that can be used as a standard pack. Then I will build a prototype so that we can test it in a real vehicle.”

So far our research has shown some positive results and we expect to move to the next phase soon, where we can complete our research, also taking into account scalability and total cost of ownership.

Are you interested in participating in our research? Then you will help us build a greener future by electrifying construction machinery!