Volvo Electric Excavator digs in at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The construction of the Morgan Stanley Garden – one of this year’s main show gardens at the global consumer showcase – will be the first major project for Volvo’s new electric ECR25.
Highlighting the machine’s unique capabilities for inner city environments and in keeping with the garden’s aims to explore how beautiful gardens can be created with a lighter environmental footprint, the zero emissions compact excavator will begin breaking ground on the foundations for the garden today (April 29). It marks its very first job since it was unveiled to a global audience earlier this month.
Designed and created by garden designer Chris Beardshaw, The Morgan Stanley Garden considers how resources can be managed more sensitively throughout the creation of the show garden. Chris and his team have sourced a range of environmental materials and building methods to create this year’s garden – the start of which will be the electric ECR25.
Chris says: “We are incredibly proud to debut Volvo’s electric excavator during the creation of this year’s garden. RHS Chelsea Flower Show offers the perfect arena to showcase the machine because it is such an intense work zone right in the heart of London so reducing exhaust emissions and lowering the noise levels is an absolute game changer.”
The machine will be working hard over the next week and a half where it will be excavating the site and trenching for tree pits and a central water feature. Once the job is complete it will then be moving on to its next big project where it will be used in one of the first customer pilots for Volvo CE’s electric compact product range.
Because the machine is electric, no particulate matter, nitrogen oxide or carbon dioxide is released into the environment. In addition to zero exhaust emissions, it also delivers significantly lower noise levels, reduced energy costs, improved efficiency and less maintenance requirements, compared to its more conventional diesel counterparts. Capable of operating for eight hours of work at a time, it will be charged overnight using the show’s electricity grid.
Ahcène Nedjimi, Electromobility Specialist at Volvo CE, says: “What greater way to showcase the true potential for electric machine technology than on this global platform. Volvo CE has always been committed to delivering zero emissions in the construction industry and now we are fulfilling this promise with a machine that represents a brighter future not only for our industry, but for society as a whole. This exciting project is the best possible demonstration of how we are driving forward sustainable innovations with our partners across any and every task, big and small.”
There are more than 157,000 visitors set to attend the five day-long RHS Chelsea Flower Show when it opens to the public on Tuesday, May 21 – all of whom are there to see cutting-edge garden design and the latest horticultural trends. Designer Chris Beardshaw has a strong reputation at the event, having received seven Gold Medals and four BBC People’s Choice Awards and last year was awarded Best in Show for The Morgan Stanley Garden for the NSPCC (UK children’s charity).
And this year’s garden in the heart of London is a fitting setting for Volvo’s cleaner, quieter and more efficient machine.
Click here to learn more about Volvo’s electromobility journey.
