Battery-swap stations for mini excavators arrive on urban job sites
A trailer-mounted swap unit lets electric compact machines keep digging all day without waiting on a charger or a grid connection.
The biggest complaint about electric mini excavators has always been the same: they work beautifully until the battery runs out at 2 p.m. and there is nowhere on a city street to plug in. A new approach being tested in Amsterdam, Oslo, and Seattle sidesteps the problem by bringing charged batteries to the machine.
The system uses a trailer holding four charged packs and a small lifting frame. A machine drives alongside, a technician unlatches the depleted pack, and a fresh one slides into place in under ten minutes. Depleted packs are recharged overnight at the depot.
Standardised packs are the catch
Swapping only works if the packs fit. The current pilot uses machines from a single manufacturer, and industry groups are discussing a common pack format for the 1.5 to 3-tonne class, though agreement is likely years away.
Cities are motivated. Several now require zero-emission equipment for work in central zones, and contractors say swapping is the first option that lets them bid those jobs without renting a diesel generator to charge an electric machine.
- Electric equipment
- Compact excavators
- Charging
