Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has unveiled its latest concept machine known as the EX2, a fully electric compact excavator that is claimed to deliver zero emissions, 10 times higher efficiency, 10 times lower noise levels and reduced total cost of ownership compared to its conventional counterparts.

It is believed to be the world’s first fully electric compact excavator prototype. The EX2 was presented at the Volvo Group Innovation Summit in London, UK, last month. At this stage, the EX2 is purely a research project and there are currently no plans for industrialisation.

To make the EX2 prototype fully electric, the combustion engine has been replaced with two lithium ion batteries, totalling 38 KWh, which store enough electric energy to operate the machine for eight hours in an intense application, such as digging compact ground. The hydraulic architecture has also been replaced with electric architecture which incorporates electromechanical linear actuators that help to optimise the transmission chain. This led to significantly lower noise levels.

“In line with the Volvo Group’s vision to be the most desired and successful transport solution provider in the world, Volvo CE is committed to contributing to sustainable development,” says Thomas Bitter, senior vice-president of marketing and product portfolio.

“At Volvo CE, we are developing technologies connected to electromobility, intelligent machines and total site solutions that will benefit our customers and the environment by contributing to increased machine performance, productivity, efficiency, safety and sustainability. Our future products and services will play an important part in building a sustainable society,” he adds.