Northvolt in deal to electrify construction vehicles

Sweden's flagship battery producer Northvolt has agreed to supply battery systems to Pon Equipment for its construction vehicles.

Pon Equipment, which distributes Caterpillar products in Norway and the Netherlands, placed an initial order for 90 of Northvolt's Voltpack lithium-ion battery packs for use in its Z-line excavators. Caterpillar is one of Europe's largest construction vehicle producers.

The order marks a move into a new market for Northvolt, which has until now been more focused on the passenger vehicle market.

"With this partnership, Northvolt is keenly entering into a new market with its battery systems. The electrification of construction equipment will usher in important change for the industry," president of systems at Northvolt, Emad Zand, said. "The solutions we are demonstrating here will come to contribute greatly to a reduction in urban pollution and our dependence on fossil fuels."

The batteries will be integrated into 12t and 25t Z-line excavators, featuring 150kWh and 300kWh, respectively, of installed battery systems. Larger vehicles usually need larger, more energy dense battery systems, which are likely to contain more nickel and cobalt to store and stabilise the energy.

Erik Sollerud, managing director of Pon Equipment, said that Pon was increasing its order volumes for batteries significantly with the agreement.

The European market share of passenger EVs increased in 2020, and this year could be similarly transformative for the commercial vehicle market. EVs totalled 10.5pc of EU passenger vehicles in 2020, but EV registrations of new trucks in the EU have remained stubbornly low, at 0.4pc of the total market.

Anti-pollution schemes and government purchasing of EVs in Europe are expected to increase the rate of commercial EV adoption this year. A pledge by the administration of President Joe Biden to electrify the US fleet should also add to global battery demand.

By Thomas Kavanagh