Gradall team up with Volvo Penta for Electric Journey

At Conexpo-Con/Agg long established American excavator manufacturer Gradall revealed a new concept machine as part of a partnership with Volvo Penta, the EL 4100 highway-speed electric wheeled excavator.

Modelled on the existing Gradall XL 4100 V machine, this mobile excavator is powered by two Volvo Penta batteries that are located in the space normally dedicated to a conventional internal combustion engine.

Volvo Penta have also supplied the high voltage electric drive system- electric motors, converters, junction boxes and all the cabling.  

Delivering the excavator to site under its own electric power, the machine then switches power, via a power-take-off (PTO) to run the hydraulic system for the excavator. The system will deliver 94 kWh of energy, and it can reach full capacity in under 45 minutes from a 150kW charger.

Essentially the machine features the same spec as any Gradall excavator we have seen before, namely, a telescopic boom mounted next to a separate cab sitting to the rear of a road-going chassis.

This allows the machine to be independently dispatched to numerous locations throughout the workday, rather than requiring a low loader for transport. It also makes the EL 4100 suited for work in environments where knuckle boom models may not be the ideal fit, such as under overhead obstructions like powerlines.

Checkout this video from our American friends over at Equipment World.