Dutch Company Offers Eco-Friendly Electric Mini Excavator

I came across this machine recently on LinkedIn, I have to admit, this brand had not been on my radar, but apparently, they have been in business since 2018.

The company is called Electric Special Technics (EST) and they are believed to be the first Dutch company to market Electric mini excavators using the brand name Limach. The company are keen to expand the business as interest in electric powered machines and vehicles in general gathers pace on what seems like a daily basis.

Sharp eyed readers will immediately recognise that the machine itself is a converted Volvo mini excavator. In this instance the diesel engine is removed and is replaced by a lithium-Ion phosphate battery pack, powering an electric motor.

According to EST the machines are capable of operating for almost 8 hours from one 8-hour overnight charge. I think as these electric machines become ever more popular in our ever changing world, our working habits will have to adjust accordingly, for instance, just as we do with our mobile phones, during lunchbreaks, we will get into the habit of topping up the charge on the digger if it’s possible to do so.

The company are extremely confident about the expected lifetime durability of the batteries and anticipate that after running the machine for ten years, during which time the batteries will have probably been charged around 2000 times, the actual battery pack will still be capable of holding 80% of its original capacity.

At the moment two sizes are available, the 1.8 tonne class E18.1 and the E20.2 which competes in the 2-tonne class range, but we expect that range to expand with larger machines being offered in due course.

Checkout the video from EST Limach.