Electric Construction Equipment Promises a Quiet Revolution

There’s something slightly uncanny about seeing the Takeuchi TB20e at work. Watching the excavator tear through an East London sidewalk, where it is currently being trialed by UK construction company Falco and electricity distributor UK Power Networks, it’s the sound of its motor that stands out. Instead of the familiar clatter of a diesel engine, it emits only a barely perceptible hum.

Digging a hole next to a busy side street, the machine itself is hard to hear against the roar of traffic; only the occasional clank of its metal arm against the concrete rises above the sounds of passing buses.

This serene scene is typical, the site ...