Volvo Construction Equipment last month delivered its first all-electric Volvo ECR25 compact excavator and Volvo FE electric truck to France, launching a new generation of zero-emissions products there. The recipient of the new products was French contractor Eiffrage, a long-term Volvo customer.
The machines will support Eiffrage’s low-carbon strategy and will be working on the ambitious Grand Paris Express transport project in the French capital. The project is a rapid transit initiative being built in Paris that will add 200 kilometers (120 miles) of new track and 68 new stations, ultimately serving 2 million passengers per day.
The handover of Volvo Trucks and Volvo CE’s first all-electric products was marked with a small ceremony in Paris. It was attended by Benoit de Ruffray, Eiffage Group CEO, and a representative of Volvo Truck and Volvo CE’s France-based teams. As a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions, Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt, Volvo CE president Melker Jernberg and Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm all participated digitally.
“By 2030, we want over a third of the machines the Volvo Group sells to be electric,” said Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt. “We can’t do this alone, we want to do this together with our customers, partners like Eiffage and the wider society. Today is an exciting landmark on this journey to shape the future of transport and infrastructure.”
“Today’s deliveries of this electric truck and construction machine is the start of a revolution in transport and infrastructure solutions,” said Melker Jernberg, president of Volvo CE. “Make no mistake, electric machines are not going to remain a niche product area. Over the course of the next years and decades they will become the dominant source of low-or-no emission power. When coupled with clean energy, their potential to support climate change goals, improve air quality and help build the world we all want to live in cannot be underestimated. I’m very pleased that we are starting this journey with friends such as Eiffage.”
“The support from forward-thinking customers like Eiffage is important for the future development of sustainable transport solutions,” added Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks. “Keeping a close dialogue with customers means that we all learn faster and together can accelerate the necessary transition into a fossil-free future."
This first delivery in France represents, for both Volvo CE and Volvo Trucks, an important and real step on the way to zero emissions. Thanks to their low noise and vibration levels, and their absence of exhaust gases, electric trucks and machines are well suited to meeting tough environmental regulation in urban areas, confined spaces, or specific works. They offer new opportunities for urbanization as well as road infrastructures.
The Volvo FE Electric 6X2 truck was built at the Volvo plant of Blainville sur Orne in France. It will be used to deliver and collect tools and spare parts for demolition works of Part 1 – line 16 and Part T2B of line 15 of the Grand Paris Express project. It will drive around 150 kilometers per day – all of them with zero exhaust emissions.
The Volvo ECR25 electric compact excavator, will be used by Eiffage in support of demolition and dismantling activities, also with zero CO2 emissions and far lower noise and vibration levels than traditional diesel engine machines. The 2.5-ton machine has the same performance as its diesel counterpart, and its battery pack offers four hours work time, depending on application. The Volvo ECR25 Electric was developed and built at Volvo CE’s Belley factory in France.
