By Chris McCullough

Finnish loader manufacturer, Avant, launched its all-electric wheeled loader domestically last year and has sold more than 100 machines since distribution started in January this year.

With pressure mounting on machinery manufacturers to cut emissions going down, the electric route is one answer to the concerns but it has not been without its problems.

Avant’s e5 loader is a fully electric, battery-powered loader with zero emissions, extremely low noise levels and low running costs.

From the technical side, the e5 is equipped with a 240 amp hour lead acid battery and has two electric motors – a 6kW motor for driving the machine and 2kW motor for loader boom operation and auxiliary hydraulics.

It has 30 l/min auxiliary hydraulics flow, which can easily handle working with various Avant attachments, including a hydraulic hammer.

Operation time of the machine varies depending on the type of work it is performing, but it can operate for up to three hours in light working conditions, such as transport and light lifting.

In heavier working operations, such as pushing, heavy lifting and using auxiliary hydraulics, the e5 has a recommended working time of 45 minutes to one hour.

The loader has an integrated battery charger, which makes it possible to charge batteries anywhere a 230V/10A power outlet is available.

Charging time of the battery pack to 80% capacity is approximately three hours and to 100% is five hours.

Jani Kakela, who is the vice-president of Avant Tecno and the sales and marketing director, said the fresh demand for electric loaders was coming from customers working indoors.

Jani, the son of company founder Risto Kakela, said: “Because we manufacture compact loaders, a lot of our customers are driving at least some portion of their daily operation inside, may it be in a cow house or shed, horse stable, demolition site or an industrial application.

“In any case there are people or in some cases people and animals that will get exposed to exhaust fumes, when using a loader with conventional internal combustion engine.

“Many of our customers have concerns, that this is not good for the health of the operators or animals in long term and this is why we started to work on a zero emission solution.

“In addition to the concern of our customers we can see that legislation is also tightening year after year on use of internal combustion engines in enclosed or partially enclosed areas,” he said.

The e5 has similar batteries to those used in electric forklifts and the benefit of this is that it has been in use for decades and well-known to any forklift dealer.

The loader is fitted as standard with 23/10.5-12 tyres, though there's the option of 26/12-12 tyres.

However, plans are now afoot within Avant to introduce a new all electric loader with longer working times and less downtime for charging.

Thanks to further development in battery technology, Avant will be launching the e6 model later this year.

Jani said: “The e6 will be a sister model of the e5 with the principal difference being the battery. The e6 has a lithium ion battery, which allows it to be used for two to six hours and charging the battery takes only one hour when using the quick charging device,” he said.