The transition to construction machines without combustion engines is now the protagonist on Bauma 2022 stands

A recent AGCS (Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty) report dedicated to the construction sector is titled “The Post Pandemic Construction Sector” and aims to analyze both short and long term industry risk trends.
This study highlights how globally the construction sector is preparing for a sustained period of strong growth, driven by government spending to regenerate or create infrastructure and by the no longer postponable transition to a net zero society, in which the goal is the cancellation and compensation of CO2 emissions. Greater sustainability and attention to “net zero” will strongly influence the traditional landscape in the construction field. According to the United Nations Environment Program, buildings and the construction industry are responsible for 38% of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

This point of view and the growing access restrictions of operating machines in European urban centers explain the spread of electric and hybrid cars in the rental parks of the largest European hirers, but also in the manufacturers' price lists. In other words, the constant renewal of the fleet is even more important than in the past given that the devaluation of non-electric or non-Stage V models could be a boomerang.

Looking at the construction sector from this point of view, it is not surprising that the electrification of earthmoving machines and aerial platforms is one of the hot topics of Bauma 2022. The transition to construction machines without combustion engines is now the protagonist on the stands of many companies and not just machine manufacturers. Almost all traditional diesel engine manufacturers present “electric” solutions and packages to give manufacturers the opportunity to develop new zero-emission models.
Also in the hydraulic components compartment there are innovations that thanks to the electronic management of distributors and pumps allow to increase efficiency and work in order to extend the autonomy of the batteries managed by refined BMS. Then there is the world of retrofitting. Today in the Netherlands and northern Europe there are companies that convert new diesel machine into 100% electric, certainly not a cheap operation. At Bauma we expect to see proposals to electrify recent but used machines, to give them a second zero emissions life. Among the innovations there is no shortage of housing modules for construction sites that thanks to solar panels on the roof are independent from the network. However, the great technological challenge remains that of recharging and the solutions available on work site to accumulate energy 24/24 h and allow the fast recharging of multiple machines during the lunch break.