Heavy equipment manufacturer CNH, which comprises both the Case and New Holland brands, has stepped up its zero-pollution game with the announcement of a new electric compact wheel loader.
As Electrek reports, this is now the third electric-powered model the company offers, which will help its sales across Europe and places where stricter regulations and carbon-curbing plans are being adopted.
Many cities across the EU have added "low-emission zones" in certain areas to help reduce pollution. Stockholm, Sweden, has gone so far as to announce it will ban non-electric vehicles in a 20-block radius of its city center, in hopes of improving the quality of life for residents and cutting down on planet-warming pollution.
The European Environment Agency also has issues with noise pollution, which has been found to adversely impact cardiovascular health. The commission has laid out a plan to reduce the number of people disturbed by transport noise 30% by 2030, compared to 2017 levels.
CNH's new line, which is designed and produced in Italy, claims to offer 3 to 6 hours on a charge, depending on the use case. The 23 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery can be charged overnight using a traditional power socket, or refreshed from 20% to 80% in just one hour using a DC fast charger.
These quieter, non-polluting, and more efficient machines are ideal for work in populated and regulated areas. They'll be in high demand, too, as Business Wire reported that global housing construction projects are estimated to grow 2.1% every year through 2028.
As CNH explains, the lower noise and zero-pollution machines will also be ideal for a variety of sensitive locations including night construction projects and enclosed areas where carbon-producing vehicles are not permitted.
This also marks a useful shift away from diesel power for the company, a fuel that tends to dominate the heavy equipment industry and is a notorious producer of harmful pollution. These electric options can also guarantee higher performance and lower operating costs than the diesel ones, according to the company.
The launch dovetails with the EU's new laws that aim to nearly eliminate pollution coming from heavy-duty vehicles by 2040. In conjunction with that, the law seeks to transition 90% of bus fleets to zero-pollution by 2030.
CNH isn't the only manufacturer that's working to electrify its fleet of machines for the betterment of the environment and improved quality of life for workers and nearby communities.
In Australia, where the construction industry is booming, new electric excavators have arrived on jobsites to offset the pollution factor. Germany-based HAMM AG has launched pilot tests of its own electrified rollers for road construction projects in North America.
Even bustling port hubs are seeing an influx of greener machines, which can do as much heavy hauling as their gas-guzzling counterparts.
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