Organisations that use conventional construction machinery will soon no longer get any orders
The goal of pushing only sustainable building projects in the future unites cities as diverse as Oslo, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Budapest. The cities involved in the C40 (including Berlin and Heidelberg) want to halve CO₂ emissions for the construction of new buildings, and infrastructure and maintenance by 2030. From 2025 onwards, the cities only want to award contracts in which CO₂-neutral construction machinery is used.
The timetable seems ambitious, but it can be achieved. This is because the electrification of construction machinery is already on the verge of a decisive breakthrough: technical advances in drive, battery, and charging technology are already enabling electrification on a grand scale — and Webasto is one of the driving forces behind this development.
"The increasing electrification in all industries will also reduce the prices for battery systems and components in the future," explains Karl Kolmsee, Head of Product Portfolio Management Energy Systems at Webasto.
The key to successful electrification of construction machinery lies in high voltage technology: "High voltage technology delivers precisely the high energy density needed by construction machinery," says Kolmsee. This means that construction machines can charge with an electrical voltage of up to 800 volts and serve demanding load profiles. In addition, smaller cable cross-sections are possible for the same charging power so that the machines can be charged faster.
Will conventional construction machinery soon be obsolete? Electric alternatives are already on the advance.