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The construction industry contributes to large greenhouse gas emissions, both from machines and materials, while one fifth of the emissions in Oslo come from other mobile combustion, mainly from diesel engines in construction machinery. It is important to make the machines zero-emission to achieve our climate goals, and the journey has already begun.
Through tender competitions, the City of Oslo has rewarded zero-emission technologies on construction sites, using electric excavators and other zero-emission vehicles in the construction process.
And now effects are showing
Sales of electric excavators have increased. Tone Grøstad, CEO of the machine importers organization MGF, believes that 15 percent of new sales of excavators over 10 tons in 2022 will be electric.
«That is a good number. The development is happening because Norwegian companies have been bold to change from fossil excavators into electric excavators», Grøstad says.
Right now, there are about 100 electric excavators available in the Norwegian market, and Grøstad believes that approximately 250 electric excavators will be sold in 2022. This will account for 15 percent of new sales in this segment and about half of the electric excavators can be sold in the Oslo area.
Tone Grøstad, CEO of MGF
The industry is coming together
Cities all over Europe recently met with the construction industry in Oslo for a conference facilitated by the European Commission’s initiative for Big Buyers for Climate and Environment. Among the participants were several major European cities such as Copenhagen, Barcelona and Berlin, as well as the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure (Rijkwaterstaat). The goal is to find innovative solutions that cut greenhouse gas emissions, local air pollution and reduce noise from construction sites in cities.
«It is important that cities all over Europe follow Oslo’s example to buy electric excavators from the manufacturer instead of rebuilding. Our collective demand for electric excavators will send a clear message to the large companies producing them», Grøstad says.
