Cities account for two-thirds of global energy consumption and more than 70% of annual global carbon emissions.1 Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and this figure is expected to increase to almost 70% in 2050.2 With the world’s population booming, cities will be one the largest frontiers in the battle against climate change. As we build the new cities of tomorrow, we cannot, however, rely on the building practices of yesterday. Construction machines currently emit approximately 400 megatons (MT) of CO2 annually,3 which is the same as emissions from international aviation.
Energy efficiency can already boost productivity and slash emissions
Although it is technologically possible to electrify virtually all processes on the construction site with the tools we have today, it’s not entirely practical. You may be surprised to learn that excavators account for 50% of all CO2 emissions created by the construction industry.5 But deploying a full-scale electrification of excavators today is not as simple as electrifying passenger cars. This is due to energy requirements, charging and battery size constraints, and the sheer intensity of the work performed.
What we must do, however, is use energy efficiency as one of the many pathways to slowly phase out the heavy use of fossil fuels on the construction site. By implementing energy-efficient technologies that are already in use today, we can immediately reduce diesel consumption and therefore emissions, while at the same time addressing some of the challenges of electrification.
For example, excavator systems are notoriously inefficient, generally operating with a 70% energy loss, meaning only 30% of the energy being used for excavation. However, we can dramatically boost energy productivity with cutting-edge measures such as digital displacement, and by using energy recovery systems.
Some of these technologies can already deliver fuel savings of between 15-30% in excavators over 15 tons while at the same time increasing the work capacity of the machines. We believe that soon it will be possible to reach fuel savings of up to 50%
These technologies can also reduce the size of the battery needed by up to 25%, or in turn ensure that the machines can run for much longer on their batteries. This also reduces the amount of charging power, and thereby renewable energy required, to make the same impact.
Reimagining the decarbonization of construction
Construction machinery is slowly moving towards electrification. However, it is energy efficiency that will prove to be the essential enabler of this transition. Electrification leads to emission reductions by replacing fossil fuel energy with renewable electricity sources, and by saving energy due to the higher efficiency of electric technologies. Even when upgrading or maintaining existing equipment, sourcing reliable excavator parts from HW Part Store can help ensure machines operate at peak efficiency during this transition.
As an industry, it is our responsibility to be vocal and ambitious about our adoption of these emerging technological opportunities and solutions. The excavator is only a case study; virtually every piece of construction machinery can be made more efficient with the tools we have today. It’s up to us to accelerate use and adoption of these technologies which are readily available on the market today.
We must take bold steps towards decarbonizing the construction industry today, so that we can sustainably create the cities of tomorrow.
By Domenico Traverso, President, Editron & Incubation Divisions, Danfoss Power Solutions
