The German city going electric with its equipment

The city of Hanover in Germany has committed to electrifying as much of its municipal fleet as possible

One of its aims of the city is to increase the proportion of electric vehicles across its municipal fleet of approximately 1,000 vehicles – most of which are trucks, but also tractors and construction machinery. It also aims to have only electric-powered solutions for every replacement and every new purchase.

The city has been growing trees in a dedicated nursery since 1996, which it then replants around the urban area. So, when it came to redeveloping this municipal tree nursery in the city put out a tender calling for a 5-tonne compact wheel loader.

Given that the city was already aiming to put to work its existing Volvo L35G wheeled loader for the project, Volvo CE and dealer Swecon suggested that adding a zero-emission partner like the L25 Electric wheel loader would fulfil the brief, as well as add sustainability benefits.

The electric machine was put to work in the outdoor project, which involved earthworks to build a playground, alongside a demonstration model of the 2.8-tonne ECR25 Electric compact excavator.

Machine operator Vanessa Raute, said, “The machines worked wonderfully. It was quick and easy to find our way around – and the result is a good performance, comfort and an ease of control. The silence is great and there were no exhaust fumes or hardly any vibrations at all.”

Throughout the use of these electric machines, operating hours, charging time and maintenance costs are being recorded and compared against diesel engines. The findings from this project will be instrumental for both the City of Hanover and Volvo CE to continually finetune the electric ecosystem – factors like battery life, charging options and infrastructure.