TfL trials electric construction vehicles to cut carbon emissions

E+T Editorial Team Fri 21 Feb 2025

Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/02/21/tfl-trials-electric-construction-vehicles-cut-carbon-emissions

Transport for London (TfL) is trialling a new way to cut its carbon emissions by utilising zero-emission construction vehicles.

For future works, TfL will begin employing an electric excavator and wheel loader to replace equipment traditionally powered by fossil fuels. It has already trialled the vehicles at three locations in Redcliffe Gardens in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The electric vehicles use a method of recharging provided by Charge Fairy, a British electric charging start-up. It provides real-time updates on the machines’ charging levels when on-site – this feeds into a team that can then send a charging van to the site.

This method of bringing the charger to the vehicle allows the construction machines to be recharged in an hour.

TfL

TfL said that developments in how vehicles on construction sites are powered and charged could change how the capital’s transport network is built in the future. Mayor Sadiq Khan has set a target for London to be carbon neutral by 2030.

According to TfL, diesel construction excavators are responsible for emissions equivalent to more than 100,000 passenger cars. Early data from the trial suggested that over a two-week period the electric excavator saved more than 100kg of CO₂.

Additional harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and particulate matter were also eliminated.