Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is furthering its commitment to decarbonizing the construction industry by investing SEK 80 million (approximately €7.1 million) in battery pack production at its excavator plant in Changwon, South Korea. The investment will help add a 2,500-square-meter facility to produce various battery packs for the Volvo Group, with battery pack production scheduled to start in June 2024.
The Volvo plant in Changwon is the biggest excavator factory in Volvo CE’s production network, manufacturing over half of the company’s global output. While a large electric excavator is not yet available as a serial vehicle, the Changwon plant has experience with compact electric excavators in a pilot project. Volvo CE currently offers compact electric excavators to the global market with the ECR25 Electric, ECR18 Electric, EC18 Electric, and mid-size EC230, as well as compact electric wheel loaders, boasting one of the largest electric ranges in the industry.
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Volvo CE plans to build Changwon into a core competence center for electric excavators, with the investment facilitating the production of various battery packs for the Volvo Group. This investment also indicates that a large electric excavator may be launched by Volvo CE around June 2024, coinciding with the start of battery pack production. The current 22-ton EC230 Electric excavator is undergoing customer testing in South Korea and China, with the aim of quickly commercializing it once customer feedback is received.
Andy Knight, Head of Operations Excavator and Managing Director of Volvo Group Korea, highlights that Changwon is “ideally located close to battery module supply partners and other key suppliers in South Korea to meet customers’ needs in the future. We are also home to a highly skilled and motivated workforce who are fully committed to meeting our future environmental targets.” The Volvo Group uses battery cells from the South Korean manufacturer Samsung SDI for its heavy electric trucks.
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Volvo CE aims to be “completely free of fossil fuels” by 2040, with an interim goal of having 35% of machine sales be electric by 2030. In addition to its investment in Changwon, Volvo CE is investing in e-mobility activities in Europe and has already announced multi-million investments in producing electric wheel loaders, haulers, and articulated dumpers in Sweden.
