Construction News

Thu March 28 2024

Related Information

French contractor leads switch to battery power

18 Dec 20 French contractor Eiffage has this week taken delivery of an all-electric Volvo FE Electric truck and a Volvo ECR25 Electric compact excavator – becoming the first customer of the products in France.

Eiffage's ECR25 Electric excavator and Volvo FE Electric 6X2 truck
Eiffage's ECR25 Electric excavator and Volvo FE Electric 6X2 truck

The battery-powered machines support Eiffage’s low carbon strategy and are to work on the Grand Paris Express transport project in the French capital. This will add 200km of track to the rapid transit network and 68 new stations.

Volvo Construction Equipment president Melker Jernberg described the delivery of the new equipment as “the start of a revolution in transport and infrastructure solutions”.

He said: “Make no mistake, electric machines are not going to remain a niche product area. Over the course of the next years and decades they will become the dominant source of low-or-no emission power. When coupled with clean energy, their potential to support climate change goals, improve air quality and help build the world we all want to live in cannot be underestimated.”

Related Information

The Volvo FE Electric 6X2 truck was built at the Volvo plant of Blainville-sur-Orne in France. It will be used to deliver and collect tools and spare parts and is expected to travel 150 km per day.

The Volvo ECR25 Electric compact excavator will be used by Eiffage in support of demolition and dismantling activities. The 2.5-tonne machine has the same performance as its diesel counterpart, and its battery pack offers four hours work time, depending on application. The Volvo ECR25 Electric was developed and built at Volvo CE’s Belley factory in France.

“By 2030, we want over a third of the machines the Volvo Group sells to be electric. We can’t do this alone, we want to do this together with our customers, partners like Eiffage and the wider society,” said Volvo Group chief executive Martin Lundstedt.

Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk

MPU
MPU

Click here to view latest construction news »