by Kyle Molyneux | Thu 19 May 2022
Collins runs new Volvo EC300E Hybrids on HVO
Having taken delivery of the UK’s first Volvo EC750E and EC950E excavators and L25 Electric wheeled loader from SMT GB, Collins Earthworks has added two more pioneering machines to its fleet, a pair of Volvo EC300E Hybrid excavators. Featuring Volvo’s novel hydraulic-hybrid technology, these machines harvest ‘free’ energy generated by the downward movement of the boom to achieve 17% greater fuel efficiency than conventional models – with no trade-offs in controllability or performance, reckons their manufacturer.
To further reduce their environmental impact, Collins is running the EC300E Hybrid excavators – the first of their kind in the UK – on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel, which decreases net CO2 emissions by up to 90%. No modifications were required for the excavators to accept this alternative fuel and they behave the same as if they were powered by diesel.
“Sustainability is an integral part of our company ethos and profile, and so it is important to us to invest in hybrid and fully electric solutions. We want to be the company paving the way for other contractors towards carbon neutral construction,” said Nathan Warner, site supervisor at Collins.
Hybrids on site
Collins has put one of its EC300E Hybrids to work in a team of 10 Volvo crawler excavators and 23 articulated haulers – with more to come – on the Segro Logistics Park Northampton Gateway project next to the M1 Junction 15. Over three years, Collins will move 4,500,000 cubic metres of earth around the 480-acre site at a rate of 100,000 cubic metres per week in peak times, to create plots for distribution buildings and a lorry park, a strategic rail freight interchange, acoustic bunds, and landscaped areas.
The project also involves widening the dual carriageway and the construction of a by-pass around the village of Roade to minimise traffic congestion, along with the planting of 60,000 trees. In this repetitive dig and dump application, where excavators are operating 11 hours a day for five days a week, the EC300E Hybrid offers a straightforward solution with a big payback.
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