Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is delivering on its commitment of "Building Tomorrow" with the unveiling of its first commercial zero-emissions electric compact excavator and wheel loader at bauma Munich. The machines, which are the first to be shown from a new electric range of Volvo branded compact excavators and compact wheel loaders, deliver zero exhaust emissions, significantly lower noise levels, reduced energy costs, improved efficiency and less maintenance requirements, compared to their conventional counterparts. From mid-2020, Volvo CE will begin to launch its range of electric compact excavators (EC15 to EC27) and wheel loaders (L20 to L28), stopping new diesel engine-based development of these models.

To make the ECR25 and L25 electric, the combustion engines have been replaced with lithium-ion batteries. The ECR25is fitted with lithium-ion batteries and one electric motor which powers the hydraulics in order to move the machine and the attachment. The machine's batteries store enough electric energy to power the ECR25 for eight hours in its most common applications, such as utility work. The L25 incorporates lithium-ion batteries which allow for eight hours of operation in the machine's regular applications, including light infrastructure work, gardening, landscaping and agriculture. The L25 also incorporates two dedicated electric motors, one for the drivetrain and one for the hydraulics. Decoupling the subsystems has led to higher efficiency in both the systems and the entire machine.