Cooperation between VDL Special Vehicles and Green Road Equipment
The demand in the infra world for electric heavy equipment is high due to the current nitrogen and PFAS issues. Green Road Equipement is making great strides in the electrification of road construction equipment. They have partnered with VDL Special Vehicles for the production process of these electric machines. VDL Special Vehicles is assembling the controls and driveline in the electric machines for Green Road Equipements,
In road construction, it is becoming increasingly important to make infrastructure works in a sustainable way. The PFAS and nitrogen crisis is a wake-up call. Particularly in the densely populated Netherlands, construction requirements are becoming more and more stringent. These tightened measures are making it increasingly difficult to continue working with diesel-powered machinery. For machinery manufacturers, the Netherlands is a small part of the total market. They currently see the gain mainly in striving for less polluting diesel engines. There is no major innovation and investment, and existing production lines are being retained.
Green Road Equipment (GRE) has therefore decided to start working on its own. In cooperation with its knowledge partners, it is now converting old diesel-powered machines to an electric version. Circular work is being done by reusing usable parts of the old machine. Raw materials are saved and the lifespan of the machines is doubled. The new machine will include a battery pack, an electric motor and a new CE mark and year of manufacture.
In the coming years, several types of rollers and asphalt machines will be transformed by GRE into emission-free and 100% electric machines. A converted roller can run for twelve to fourteen hours on one battery. An additional battery pack is included so that the machines can continue working even without the opportunity to recharge. Major players in road construction are interested. The old machines are converted and can be painted in the desired corporate color. To meet greater demand, GRE has sought cooperation with other partners in terms of financing and capacity. VDL Special Vehicles in Eindhoven will build the rollers for GRE.
VDL Special Vehicles in Eindhoven is the specialist in the field of emission-free solutions for the medium and heavy vehicle segment. With 150 employees, VDL Special Vehicles focuses from its Eindhoven facility on special heavy vehicles: design, development, implementation and manufacture of chassis and powertrains for heavy vehicles, as well as the manufacture of complete vehicles for third parties and the manufacture of defense vehicles.
The manufacturing team has many decades of experience in the production of electric vehicles and vehicle subsystems. VDL Special Vehicles is able to produce small to medium series in semi-automated production lines, as well as prototypes. Driven by sustainability, through innovation VDL Special Vehicles is always looking for better and/or cleaner ways to make heavy vehicles, on- and off-road, ready for the future.