Over the past few years, Bobcat has not only been supplying dealers and construction sites with versatile, high-quality excavators and loaders but has also been developing technologies to bring about the future of construction.
The most recent and potentially most impactful of these was a deal made between Bobcat’s parent company Doosan Bobcat and the South Korean technology conglomerate LG Energy Solution to provide and develop battery packs for construction and agricultural equipment.
LG is a huge technology firm, but its battery company, LG Energy Solution, is one of the biggest battery makers in the world, produced the first ever lithium-ion battery made in Korea and would create the power pack for the Chevrolet Volt, one of the first successful practical electric vehicles.
The intention, therefore is to accelerate efforts to electrify construction, providing high-capacity standardised battery packs for Bobcat’s range of compact construction equipment that are designed to handle the often difficult conditions found on construction sites.
LG claims that their batteries are long-lasting and have excellent energy density and performance, whilst also working well in low-temperature conditions.
Bobcat had already been working on electric construction equipment and had already rolled out forklifts with hydrogen fuel cells in 2024, setting the stage for further alternative energy and electrical developments.
As the rest of the transportation and mobility market moves towards electrification, construction equipment was previously believed to be one of the final areas where such a significant transition was expected, but this partnership has the potential to expedite the process and not just for Bobcat themselves.
Whilst Bobcat equipment would be the first to take advantage of any developments in the area of electrification, this would not only expand to grounds maintenance and agricultural equipment using the same underlying technology but show to the entire heavy equipment sector that electrical equipment is possible.