Products & Equipment Heavy Equipment
Volvo’s EC230 electric excavator enters North American testing phase

May 2, 2023, LOUISIANA – Volvo Construction Equipment, in collaboration with WM, have begun the North American testing phase of the EC230 electric excavator. Weighing in at 23 tonnes, the machine represents a significant advancement in mid-size and heavy construction’s move toward zero-emission equipment solutions.

The mid-size electric excavator will enter a testing phase at one of WM’s east coast facilities, where it will be performing tasks and measured alongside diesel excavators in waste applications. Collected data and feedback is to be shared with Volvo CE before the model is made available in North American markets next year.

The model has already been tested extensively by overseas clients, with the company sharing that it performed equivalently to diesel excavators. Areas where these equivalencies were observed include extraction, earthmoving and grading for site preparation, and waste and scrap handling.

The absence of an engine in the EC230 also makes for reductions in noise, maintenance, and total cost of ownership. The attachments and services available to Volvo CE’s diesel-fuelled counterpart machines are cross-compatible with the EC230.

Volvo sees this model, specifically its relatively larger size, as a key step in growing the availability and applications of electric construction solutions: “Electric construction equipment thus far has mostly been compact models, but to make the kind of progress we want toward a more sustainable future, larger machines need to be part of the equation,” said Stephen Roy, North American president of Volvo CE.

The EC230 made its North American debut last month at CONEXPO in Las Vegas, with the WM pilot project being announced this week at both Waste Expo in Louisiana and ACT Expo in California.