Forget the Hype, Here’s the Reality of Electric Construction Equipment

Volvo has been a leader in the construction equipment industry in the move toward electrification, and on this episode of The Dirt, we take a closer look at why the company has taken such a stance, where it’s headed and what it sees for the future.
Ray Gallant, Volvo vice president of sustainability, brings us a thought-provoking and refreshingly realistic view of where things stand with battery-electric construction equipment and where it’s headed.
He’ll be the first to tell you it’s not going to replace diesel - at least, not in the next decade or more. Instead, he offers a longer-range view, with research into the history of innovation as a guide, to show where electrification, as well as other technology, is headed and how it will make construction sites much cleaner and more efficient and productive.
Though electric equipment currently doesn’t match the performance of diesel in most earthmoving applications beyond a mini excavator, there are some areas where battery-powered equipment has opened new opportunities. Those include indoor sites and other areas sensitive to noise and pollution. Gallant says we’ll see more of that as the technology progresses.
“Don’t look at it as a replacement for diesel,” he says. “Look at this as, what new applications can I do that I could never do before?”
So don’t miss this episode of The Dirt to get a down-to-earth perspective on electrification - without all the hype - from one of the leading experts in the construction equipment industry.
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In This Episode:
00:00 - Electric Construction Equipment and Beyond
00:41 - Why is Volvo Electrifying Their Equipment?
01:36 - Benefits of Electric Construction Equipment
03:42 - Energy Management for Electric Machines
05:12 - The True Cost of Electric Construction Equipment
06:35 - How Will Electric Equipment Become More Popular?
11:01 - How Telematics Can Revolutionize Job Sites
14:52 - Why History Shows Electric Equipment Will Succeed
17:14 - What Electric Construction Equipment Does Volvo Offer?
19:45 - More Benefits of Electric Construction Equipment
22:27 - Final Thoughts
Video Transcript:
Bryan Furnace:
Today we're here to talk about the new revolution happening in the equipment industry. And right now we all see this on the front lines as electrification. And that's really the way this interview started was talking about electrification. But then my interview candidate Ray from Volvo really blew my mind with how the other side of the industry is thinking about this revolution and it goes far above and beyond electrification. So without further ado, here's my interview with Ray.
Well, Ray, thank you so much for being on the dirt today. I really appreciate your time.
Ray Gallant:
Pleasure to be here, Bryan.
Bryan Furnace:
Well, my first question, I'm just going to hit you right out of the gate with it. The industry really is pushing sustainability pretty hard. While all of us out in the field are kind of really fighting that change. We're very happy with where we are with our nice soot blowing diesel engines. Why is Volvo joining in with the industry on this push towards electrification?
Ray Gallant:
So that's an interesting question and a very straightforward question, if I may say. We believe that sustainability is a worthy goal, a worthy thing to pursue. We recognize that the technology is not advanced to the point where every application can instantly switch tomorrow to a more sustainable basis. Our approach is to switch what we can switch to a more sustainable footprint. But more importantly than that, take the features of these new technologies and take advantage of them going forward.
So electric machines, for instance, battery electric machines are very quiet, have low vibration as well as zero emission. So you're doing good for sustainability and for the environment. But at the same time, because they're quiet, because they have low vibration, they can do applications where traditional diesel machines could not even function. So in around animals or valuable livestock where you don't want the fumes going into livestock. In around food, food sources, in indoors, applications like that, that traditionally are very difficult or expensive to do with diesel equipment or cannot even be done at all, electric equipment has a chance to go in there and do that.
So our push is to find and take advantage of those individual special applications where you can use electric equipment. And as the electric equipment gets better and better and better, and as the technology matures, then it may be a more viable alternative for general construction use. But we're not, at the moment, saying that the technology is ready...

[@Construction_Survey_Czar]

Make a video about electric equipment, have an in video ad about engine oil. Brilliant.

[@ethanorians]

I agree there is a place for fully electric equipment and a place where there is not, for the place where there is not I do not see why hybrids can not be developed. We have had the technology in "diesel locomotives" for decades where the main drive components are electric with an onboard diesel generator.

[@carlsapartments8931]

Absolutely you are right 100% and should have been done a long time ago. I drive the best hybrid electric car, 2019 Chevy Volt, NO OTHER HYBRID HAS A BATTERY THIS BIG, and I believe this is what every Car Manufacturer should have started with 20 years ago and not try to compete directly with TESLA. I can always drive in the city on 100% electric, which is the most important part. In fact this would have given TESLA more competition because of peoples brand loyalty and range anxiety. What you need is a 100-200 km(62-124 mile) range city sized battery not 500-1000 km(300-600 mile) range highway battery that you rarely use. I drive fully electric in the city and only use gas when I take a highway trip that is longer than my battery range. My Chevy volt did 1000 kilometer (600 mile) trip at Christmas through the Rocky mountains starting with a full charge in hybrid mode and only a 35 litre gas tank (9.25 usgal) filled to the rim(1000km on one tank in hybrid mode). NO RANGE ANXIETY HERE. If I don't travel I never buy gas ever, but the tank stays full and I always have it if I need to use it! The same trip in my Cadillac Seville would take over 120 litres. I have an 18.4 Kwh battery good for 60+ km in winter and 114 km summer, but I would have liked to have a 25 Kwh battery to extend max charge range to 150 Kilometers. I charge daily but this would allow me to charge every 2-3 days in winter and every 4-6 days in summer.

[@stigbengtsson7026]

Thank You for a very good video. And thank you Volvo for going forward, on what could be done with battrey electric machines. Best whishes both. 😊

[@danerose575]

I developed chronic fatigue on hot days smelling dirty diesel from heavy equipment. I've looked for electric for a while. What I want is swapabble batteries weighing 30l'b each so they can be charging while I'm using the others.

[@carlsapartments8931]

www.google.com/search?q=janus+electric+truck+system&oq=janus+electric+truck+system&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCwgAEEUYChg5GKABMgkIARAhGAoYoAHSAQoxMDA1MmowajE1qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:72011a04,vid:9eYLtPSf7PY,st:0

[@natoflores8723]

I've had a Chevy Bolt for over 3 years and the only maintenance I've had is to change the tires. I hardly use the brakes. When I have to at night I can even charge it to an acceptable level via a 110v outlet. As to first CO's used Bolts are very inexpensive now. Internal combustion engines will be replaced due to operational costs. Given the drop in electricity production via renewables all we need are HVDC distribution systems to get off of fossil fuels in a big way.

[@jpwoelfling]

4:20 How do you recharge a machine 2 or 3 times a day when your on a jobsite that does not have a power pole on site? Do you bring in a Diesel Generator? Depending on how many electric machines you have, you will need several KW of power to charge multiple pieces of equipment 2 or 3 times a day.

[@quantaca5773]

well go to 2:55 ish and you get your answer, you just focus on the 1 thing (situation) they said they couldn't really do. and in a way even using a diesel generator to charge a electric machine is more efficient (generators can be 70-80 % efficient, a diesel motor powering a vehicle is only 20-25%), but yeah to actually meaningfully charge it you'd need a powerfull gennerator, with just a 5KW generator you'd need a very long lunch break ;). most of these applications are for where you do have access to power which is actually the bulk of use these machines see (diesel included)... you may be building a basement or footing on a off-grid property somewhere with absolutely no chance of getting power but thats not typical. and yes perhaps in the future one of the demands before starting work would be to have a power pole on site that said you can easily work around it by bringing in a battery container to charge (possibly with a solar array). a tesla megapack wich is container sized would be able to recharge that big 23T excavator about 12 times (0-100%), but with the costs involved (between 1.2 and 1.5 million), that would be more for the really big companies... but if you could get a "portable" 20-50kwh battery pack for a reasonable price, load (or build) it in a truck and you can easily charge your smaller equipment aswell. some landscaping/lawncare companies actually already do this.

[@carlsapartments8931]

This is how you do it!!! www.google.com/search?q=janus+electric+truck+system&oq=janus+electric+truck+system&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCwgAEEUYChg5GKABMgkIARAhGAoYoAHSAQoxMDA1MmowajE1qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:72011a04,vid:9eYLtPSf7PY,st:0

[@Portable-Electric]

This is where our Voltstack chargers come in. Our Voltstack 30kW e-Charger can be towed to a job site and can be used to recharge Volvo's electric equipment. We also have a smaller 5kW e-Charger that is person-moveable and is great for emergency recharges. All our equipment has been tested with Volvo equipment, and we've partnered with dealers in California and North Carolina to offer these solutions.

[@Pompomgrenade]

Engineering equipment around construction site logistical problems😅 fails to take into account many of the real '$lowdowns' in construction Processe$

[@carlsapartments8931]

The only reason EV power is so cheap is because the government has not yet caught up to the industry on fuel tax equivalent but it is coming.... there are places now already charging annual registration tax on mileage so you will have to prove your mileage to register your car each year.

[@xjdisuehd]

What we don't realize is electrification is already happening on a frightening scale. My brother-in-law recently got 4 EV trucks from GM, and they fit perfectly in his lawncare and gardening business. Sure, the trucks were expensive at about $85k each, but they save him about $350-400 in gas costs each day, and replaced by electric bill of about $50. Even on the low side, that is still an impressive $300/day across four trucks. These trucks tow about 10,000 lbs, enough to tow a trailer with all the equipment, and can go about 200 or so miles. So, the radius of operation of 100 miles isn't small either. With the savings in fuel costs of the ONLY the truck, that works out around $7000/month, which is only $1,000 less than the monthly payments. The MAJOR advantage is, that these trucks can be charged in about 8-9 hours from the depot, at commercial electricity rates. This strategy is actually working out extremely well, he is able to now quote significantly lower and also afford to pay employees better, meaning he has his choice of employees. So much so, that he has put down a $20k deposit for another 3 trucks. Just this weekend, we were discussing putting up solar on the sheds in the depot and also trying to make a few cost estimates of turning some of the actual equipment (mowers, trimmers, chainsaws, blowers, riding mowers etc.) electric. Some reviews weren't that great for some brands, some were amazing! Do these electric equipment have downsides? Absolutely! They cannot last as long as the gas powered machines and they cost more. By our estimates, these electric machines only need about 12 months to reach a breakeven point versus the gas machines and that includes additional batteries, enough to last on four jobs in a 12-13 hour shift. Near zero maintenance for the powertrain (The maintenance on gas machines - the engine is insane, you need it nearly every other week, but the electric and gas require near equal non-powertrain maintenance) is a huge boon! We might take the plunge, replacing the gas machines as they age out and become too expensive to keep in running conditions, or even wait a couple years for arrival of better electric equivalents. Not to mention the additional fuel savings.

[@lordsavagethe21st30]

The title is click-baity bus yeah electric is the future

[@TheABQBear]

Absolute claptrap coming out of Volvo.

[@thatguy3255]

The future may be electric, but not with lithium batteries

[@Pompomgrenade]

😂 forget the height. Sustainability means being able to stay in business... By the allowance of regulatory compliance. It doesn't matter if someone is regulating particular levels of insurance coverage for participation in a business endeavor or... If the measured output of pollutive operations' by equipment regulate forced electrification. Sustainability for industrial companies means being compliant to commerce regulations... No one wants to operate an electric bulldozer... 😂 But everyone WILL MARVEL at the gimmicky empowerment of such novelty becoming real. Everyone will get in the operator seat and say ooh ah this is, new and different. So long as the rules of operation steer industry towards electrification.. change will be 'justified'! Volvo is a European company and already submerged in forced compliance... To Greta thunberg😅

[@blakerobinson5233]

Electric is not better for the environment than diesel

[@Bluebottlenose]

Nah, electric vehicles are the future.