Aluminum company Xinyuan has taken delivery of a pilot emissions-free EC55 electric excavator, designed by Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) specifically for the needs of the Chinese market, for the customer trial phase of its development.

The Volvo EC55 Electric customer pilot excavator working at aluminum company Xinyuan鈥檚 site in Liaocheng, Shandong Province.

Xinyuan is using the 5.5-ton electric excavator from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) for ground grading and earthwork loading at its new plant in Liaocheng, Shandong Province. The customer trial will last 500 hours and focus mainly on testing noise and emissions. The project team will work closely with the customer to ensure improvements based on feedback received.

鈥淐hina is the perfect place to test our new machines and gain valuable customer feedback. That is why it鈥檚 exciting for us to see this machine already operating at Xinyuan鈥檚 site, and how it makes their employees鈥� daily work easier and more comfortable,鈥� says Mats Sk枚ldberg, head of Technology at Volvo CE China.

Volvo CE said the EC55 Electric customer pilot excavator offers quiet and emission-free operation. It is based on its diesel-powered counterpart, the EC55D, and has been designed to deliver even better performance and controllability with the added benefits of quiet operation and zero emissions, Volvo CE said.

Since the energy running costs are 50% lower and the maintenance requirements simpler, the EC55 Electric should also achieve higher uptime and a lower total cost of ownership, the company added.

鈥淲e have used local solutions to put together a competitive machine that we believe reaches a high maturity level already. By combining the technology of electrical propulsion with connectivity, we offer an attractive overall package of low noise, zero emissions, high efficiency, high uptime, reduced operating cost and reduced total cost of ownership,鈥� Sk枚ldberg added.

This excavator is not commercially available yet but during this research phase Volvo CE aims to mature it quickly so that it can be commercialized as soon as possible.