Capital Equipment News October 2020

ABOUT ELODIE GUYOT Elodie Guyot is project man- ager Electromobility at Volvo Construction Equipment, with a special focus on bringing electric compact machines to market. She is an experienced global product marketing manager with a history of working in the machinery industry. Guyot holds a degree in International Trade from Tamkang University in China, and a post graduate qualification, also in International Trade, from Lyon III University/EM Lyon Business School, France and Guangdong Business College, China.

48 V, they aren’t classed as high voltage, and require mainly common-sense precautions. Some people point to the fact that electric machines aren’t as kind to the environment as they claim – citing the rare earth minerals used in the componentry, and the fact that the electricity that powers them can come from ‘dirty’ sources, such as lignite-fired power stations. And these critics are right, they are not 100% clean, but they are a step in the right direction. We can’t afford to wait until all the challenges are solved but must work incrementally towards a common clean- energy goal. This is a societal issue, and beyond any one manufacturer to solve. Is electric just for the little guys? 48V is great for compact equipment, but for larger machines we will need more power. For some applications, there is still a place for hybrids and even for plugging larger

machines (like big excavators) directly into the grid. While hydrogen fuel cells look like the ideal solution for electric power, emitting only water and heat as waste products, the technology is still immature, and needs further development. In the meantime, we will need to find the best electric solution for the machine and application, and not be too rigid in committing to one type of technology. The future will require boldness Volvo CE was the first company to commit to stopping the development of diesel-powered compact equipment, and devoting resources to an electric-only product future. Our step- by-step evolution will evolve bigger machines over time, as the technology become more powerful and robust, and we become confident that there is sufficient customer demand to make it pay. This also involves a fundamental shift in our business, one that will see us learning new competences and developing new business models. We also need to be much faster in developing products and spotting new technology opportunities. While we are doing this, our dealer network will need to embrace the new technology and adapt their business models to a world where machines don’t need the same maintenance regime as diesel powered machines do. There is plenty of time for this, as diesel power is going to be around for years yet. (Or at least combustion engines are – biofuels also show great potential.) But the change is coming. Electric machines are not just a flash in the pan. After a century of playing second best to Oil, electricity has arrived, and eventually electric power is going to take over the world. b

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