Construction vehicles running on diesel can be a creator of constant costs and air pollution, with continuous negative impacts on the environment and communities. IDTechEx’s report, “Electric Vehicles in Construction 2024-2044: Technologies, Players, Forecasts“, explores the new emergence of electric construction vehicles, covering battery chemistries and major players within the market, alongside the positive effects on workers and society.
Reducing long-term costs with electrification
The goal for electric construction vehicles is to achieve maximum productivity, reliability, and efficiency, while keeping costs minimized. Finding the right battery chemistry for electric construction machines is, therefore, a necessary consideration so that costs can be low enough to ensure the total cost of ownership over the vehicle’s lifetime is cheaper than diesel alternatives. Unlike cars, these machines require steady power over longer durations, so don’t require as high power densities.
Hydraulic systems currently used to move large machines could be replaced with fully electric linear actuators alongside the electrification of construction vehicles. This change could bring about less need for vehicle maintenance as they become cleaner and more robust, resulting in lower machine running costs.
Battery chemistries and requirements
LFP batteries are used inside more than half of electric machines as they provide durability, and the performance requirements for construction machines to run efficiently. While NMC batteries have slightly higher performance rates than LFP, including battery energy and power density factors, they come at a greater cost. The greater energy density associated with NMC could make them a more suitable choice for smaller machines, as they would provide greater battery life within a smaller chassis.
Due to availability varying across regions, NMC is more commonly used in Europe, and LFP in China, with IDTechEx reporting that over 75% of European and North American pack manufacturers use NMC.
There have been questions surrounding the ability of electric machines to complete a full day’s work on one charge. Fast-charging, tethering or battery swapping could solve this problem, but most newer machines have big enough batteries to carry out an average day’s working requirements with relative comfort.
Benefits for both workers and society
Noise pollution reduction is one of construction vehicle electrification’s largest and most obvious effects. Not only will operators be better able to hear and give clear instructions without the need for noise-cancelling headphones, but the surrounding areas of construction sites won’t be so affected by loud engines and vibrations, meaning there could be fewer complaints about ongoing work.
Air quality will be improved in a similar way, as the smoky emissions from diesel engines will no longer create an unclean environment, which again will benefit not only the health and wellbeing of workers, but people in the wider community.
Market growth and outlooks
Across 7 construction vehicle categories, IDTechEx has a database of over 200 example makes and models, predicting that over 650,000 electric construction machine sales will happen in 2044, with the market exceeding US$126 billion.
