Caterpillar unveiled an electric 26-tonne excavator with a giant 300 kWh battery

Caterpillar, together with Pon Equipment, is making efforts to electrify construction equipment and presented a 26-ton electric excavator with a giant 300 kWh battery.

They built a prototype in Gyellerosen, Norway, for the construction company Veidekke, which plans to use 8 such excavators.

The company expects that such equipment will be perceived positively by its employees, since on construction sites it will reduce noise pollution, as well as emissions to the atmosphere.

Also for the first time, an excavator of this size (26 tons) will be electric using rechargeable batteries.

Such an excavator is designed for work, including on uneven terrain, and will be equipped with a giant 300 kWh rechargeable battery (total battery weight 3.4 tons).

It is believed that the energy reserve in the battery is enough for work for 5-7 hours, while the battery will be recharged at night.

The Norwegian publication Tek provided several photos of the first all-electric excavator (photos by Ole Henrik Johansen / Tek.no).









The excavator will be equipped with a 122 kW electric motor, which will be virtually silent, although you can hear the hydraulic pumps.

Oyvind Larsen, director of construction for Veidekke, reports that one machine will help reduce CO₂ emissions by 52 tons.

He said:

We pay much attention to reducing emissions when using new technologies in our technology, and not least, we are improving the lives of those who exploit our machines.

The director assumes that if the construction companies of Norway replace all excavators of similar size (approximately 2.5 thousand units), it will be equivalent if 60 thousand cars are removed from the roads.

These are the most recent examples of electrification, which apply to other industries.

Currently, more and more construction and mining companies are increasing the share of electrified machinery.

Earlier it was reported about the dump truck , which has become the largest vehicle with a massive 700 kWh battery.

Earlier it was said that the construction division of Volvo announced that they were planning to create electrical options for their entire line of small cars.

Caterpillar is particularly interested in electrifying their lineup, as they even invested in Fisker last year , citing interest in their solid-state battery technology.

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