Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2023 - 22

Battery chemistries for
CONSTRUCTION
EVs
Mini-excavators are the low-hanging fruit for the construction industry. Six out of the top 10 largest construction OEMs have either a production
or a concept/prototype electric mini-excavator available in 2023.
requirements and having high enough volumetric and
gravimetric densities to fit in the machines. Speaking
broadly, NMC tends to be a higher-performance battery
than LFP, with better energy and power densities
but coming at a premium. It would make sense
then for the industry to select LFP. It offers all the
needed performance while helping minimize the cost
premium of building an electric vehicle - the number
one priority for electric construction vehicles. So why
does the European market mostly use NMC?
Choosing between NMC and LFP
The best explanation for why NMC dominates in
Europe while LFP has taken off in China is a case of
availability. Thus far, most of the construction-EV development
in Europe has used battery-pack suppliers
such as Northvolt, Forsee and Volta, and most of their
products use NMC.
IDTechEx's research finds that more than 75% of the
offerings from European and North American pack manufacturers
use NMC. These companies have been supplying
a range of industries, including heavy-duty road
vehicles such as buses and trucks. These vehicles require
high peak power to deal with acceleration events, hills,
etc. and are better suited to NMC. But with battery pricing
being a key factor in the success of electric construction
vehicles, increased LFP uptake is likely in the future.
Meanwhile, China already has a good supply of LFP
solutions. As the country's vehicle fleet has shifted to
more electric vehicles, the domestic auto industry
needed a more affordable solution that offered acceptable
energy density (for an acceptable vehicle
22 October 2023
Number of machines available by battery chemistry and region.
IDTechEx believes the tipping point for battery pricing is in the $300-400/kWh range.
range). China's electric construction industry has been able to build
large batteries relatively quickly and deploy some huge machines,
such as the already-referenced XCMG XE270E. By contrast, European
and North American EV markets have focused on maximizing vehicle
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
ALL IMAGES: IDTECHEX

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2023

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