Hyundai Construction Equipment will be placing its R18E electric mini excavator prototype in front of North American customers for testing in late 2023.
As many other heavy machinery manufacturers are, Hyundai Construction is in active development of exploring more sustainable solutions to reduce customers’ carbon footprint.
The first generation of the R18E electric mini excavator prototype was displayed at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020. That same year, an agreement was signed between Hyundai Construction Equipment, Hyundai Motors, and Hyundai Mobis, at its Mabuk Research Centre in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, for the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology.
At ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023, Hyundai Construction Equipment showcased both the hydrogen fuel cell-driven HW155H 14-ton excavator concept and the second-generation prototype of the R18E electric mini excavator.
Going forward, Hyundai Construction Equipment will be producing three models of electric excavators, at 1.9, 2.7 and 3.5 tons.
“It's a newly developed platform for us,” said Chris Davies of Hyundai Construction Equipment.
“We're going to continue to develop this machine throughout the rest of this year and put it into the hands of contractors. They're going to run it through its paces in real-world applications. We're going to gather that feedback and move on to the next step with this machine, which is production."
