Collaborations With Reverberations
Two noteworthy industry collaborations this week signal moves that will cause ripples worldwide.
First, Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is boosting its electric jobsite dreams via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hitachi Energy.
Second, Chinese equipment maker Sany has signed a global partnership agreement with Swedish attachment manufacturer Epiroc.
Electric advancement
No one has pushed pushed electrification harder than Volvo CE. No one has marketed it as hard, either.
All along, I have felt like the company was going to need help with on-the-ground electric infrastructure and charging capabilities before they could sell the electric jobsite to the "masses."
Managers would have to sense that help coming, at the very least.
That day may be upon us.
Volvo CE and Hitachi Energy have signed an MoU to collaborate on developing end-to-end approaches that support the deployment of zero-emission construction sites.
The collaboration is meant to bring together electric construction equipment with clean power supply, energy management, and system integration capabilities to help address what Volvo says is one of the construction industry’s "most pressing" challenges: decarbonization.
While electrification, automation, and efficient resource and asset planning offer pathways to reduce emissions, transitioning from individual electric machines to fully functioning zero-emission construction sites requires a coordinated ecosystem of solutions and effective system integration across equipment, power infrastructure, and energy management systems.
Under the agreement, Volvo CE and Hitachi Energy will work on a non-exclusive basis to assess potential technical and commercial concepts supporting zero-emission construction and manufacturing operations, with a focus on system integration and site-level operational execution.
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The scope includes joint work on business models, go-to-market approaches, and aftermarket and support considerations, supported by joint teams from both companies.
“Strategic partnerships such as this with Hitachi Energy are key to accelerating the transition to zero-emission construction,” said Melker Jernberg, president of Volvo CE. “By combining complementary expertise and delivering a complete, integrated solution, we are giving customers the confidence, security, and peace of mind they need to adopt emission-free operations today.”
“Electrification is a game changer in the decarbonization puzzle, particularly for hard-to-abate environments such as construction sites,” said Niklas Persson, CEO of Grid Integration at Hitachi Energy.
“As construction operations become more electric and more complex, success depends less on individual technologies and more on system-level integration, strong execution, and close collaboration with partners like Volvo CE who share our ambition to enable zero-emission construction at scale.”
The initial focus is business- and go-to-market-oriented, emphasizing practical, plug-and-play approaches to help customers simplify the transition to zero-emission construction sites.
At the same time, the agreement establishes a foundation for deeper technical engagement over time, with the potential to explore more advanced capabilities such as connected machines, digital integration, and expanded service offerings.
Chinese maneuvers
Sany, which has been somewhat of an enigma in North America with an on-again off-again marketing strategy, has seemingly wrapped up a key, well-known partner on attachments.
Sany Group has struck a strategic partnership with Epiroc that will "explore opportunities for broader collaboration across selected areas in the mining and infrastructure industries."
The parties aim to enhance the cross-brand product portfolio, including providing combinations of Epiroc’s hydraulic breakers, other specialty attachments, as well as ground engaging tools with Sany's excavator and loader portfolio.
And of course, there's a major electrification angle, too.
Within mining, the parties will also collaborate to strengthen customers’ productivity by combining Epiroc electrified equipment, charging solutions, and global service capabilities with Sany’s extended expertise in electric micro grids and green energies.
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“Sany's innovations in electrification, equipment, and smart manufacturing are truly impressive,” said José Manuel Sánchez, president of Epiroc’s Tools & Attachments Business Area.
“Epiroc leads mining and infrastructure applications in the fields of equipment automation, electrification, and digitalization. We look forward to combining our respective technologies and resources to deliver more efficient and sustainable solutions for customers worldwide, creating new value and energy resilience for the industry.”
Lihua Tang, group director of Sany, said this in a statement: “Epiroc is a global leader in mining equipment technology, while Sany has significant advantages in new energy construction machinery and smart manufacturing. This strategic partnership represents a major step forward in our globalization strategy and will accelerate the transformation of the global mining industry towards low-carbon and intelligent operations.”
Obligatory corporate public relations, perhaps, but note that we have decarbonization mentioned once again. As that is more of a global buzzword, it remains to be seen how seriously such actions will be taken in the U.S.
Managers should keep an eye on developments anyway.