On Monday, a multi-billion pound high-speed rail project in the U.K. said electric construction equipment had been trialed at one of his sites. The HS2 project, which plans to reduce travel times between London and major cities such as Birmingham and Manchester said the electric telehandler has been used on a section of the development in the U.K. capital. HS2 said across a period of one week, the telehandler was estimated to have saved more than 400 liters of fuel “compared to a traditional combustion telehandler.”
The electric telehandler was produced by a firm called Faresin. Flannery, a plant-hire business, supplied the vehicle, which runs on a lithium battery and produces zero emissions.
“We were pleased to be the first construction site in the U.K. to trial the Eco Telehandler with Flannery and will be looking at opportunities to bring them on site to reduce carbon and deliver the project more efficiently,” James Richardson, managing director of the Costain Skanska STRABAG Joint Venture, which is undertaking works on the HS2 project, said in a statement.
HS2′s trial of battery electric equipment reflects a potential shift in how building sites could operate in the years ahead, with a stronger emphasis on low-emission technology and equipment.
