According to CONEXPO-CON/AGG, sustainability in the construction industry is being advanced by the public and private sectors and changes are afoot.
Governments are adopting more clean-air regulations at local and regional levels and companies are adopting sustainability policies and asking partners to help them meet their targets.
Many manufacturers have already developed—or are developing—electric-powered construction equipment to meet increasing emissions regulations, provide efficiency improvements, and lower operating costs.
All-electric, electric/hydraulic, and battery-operated construction eq1uipment versions rival their diesel and gas counterparts in performance, noted Joel Honeyman, the Vice President of Global Innovation at Bobcat.
THE CHANGING INDUSTRY
“People say electric machines are not going to perform as well as a diesel machine,” Honeyman observed. “That is simply not true. In many cases they can outperform them.”
“Many people are so used to what they have and are afraid of new technology. Some companies have been running diesel- and gas-powered equipment for 40, 50 years. Hydraulics have been on equipment for 80 years. Adjusting to an electric-powered machine is quite a paradigm shift.”
THE FUTURE
“We see electric-powered technologies and their applications spilling into our industry,” said Honeyman. “Look at what is happening in the auto industry. Tesla has really driven the battery electric concept and an entire industry is shifting.”
He added that green construction technology is only getting better and smarter with new machine and equipment applications and opportunities.
Among the many advantages of electrification, according to Honeyman, are “noise and vibration reduction, instantaneous power, and software features that are otherwise unavailable with a diesel engine and hydraulics.”
Added Matt Sagaser, Director of Innovation Accelerated at Bobcat’s Acceleration Center: “The software features allow us to advance and accelerate the technology. We are doing it in a way that is more efficient and cost-effective, and beyond expectations from a power perspective. Overall, our electric innovations allow us to offer customers an experience they may not have previously imagined.
“We could have very easily removed the diesel engine and replaced it with a battery. Instead, our innovation team, which leads this project, wanted to see what other advantages we could achieve if we made it all electric and removed the hydraulics as well. That opened up a lot of possibilities.”
Honeyman and Sagaser will hold an education session: "Electrifying the Future: Get Plugged In" at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, where they will look at the advantages of electric construction equipment beyond just being “green”, and will discuss what an all-electric platform allows construction equipment manufacturers to do.
Catch their session by registering for CONEXPO-CON/AGG here and use code MEDIA40 by October 28, 2022, to save 40 percent off your badge.
Held every three years, CONEXPO-CON/AGG is the must-attend event for construction industry professionals. The show features the latest equipment, products, services and technologies for the construction industry, as well as industry-leading education.
The event is produced by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the North America-based international trade group representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide.
The next CONEXPO-CON/AGG will be held March 14-18, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit www.conexpoconagg.com.