JCB launched the machine in 2019 and has already sold hundreds of units. Claimed to achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions, the electric digger is also said to have zero exhaust emissions and very low noise levels. It may therefore be better suited to working inside confined spaces than traditional construction vehicles using internal combustion engines. It could also see use in environments where noise must be kept to a minimum.
The MacRobert Award is seen as the UK’s most prestigious and longest-running engineering prize. The judges lauded JCB for demonstrating the effectiveness of electric machines in construction and the potential for future innovation to boost sustainability in the sector.
Professor Sir Richard Friend, chair of the judging panel, said: “JCB’s electric digger is a huge engineering achievement…it has the power to be the catalyst for change in an industry that is responsible for around 10% of all of the UK’s carbon emissions.”
