Paved with good intentions: Can roadbuilding really become more sustainable?

On the A522 Uttoxeter Road in Staffordshire, central England, a diesel-fuelled JCB backhoe loader with a set of unusual attachments is hard at work.

Meet Pothole Pro; the manufacturer’s latest weapon in the fight to rid the country of an estimated million potholes - and cut the carbon emissions associated with doing that.

JCB claims the 3-in-1 adapted backhoe loader can repair a typical pothole in eight minutes - four times quicker than traditional methods which are usually undertaken by a crew of six. And, it says, by making a permanent fix, instead of revisiting the same defect multiple times, the machine helps to reduce wasted time, money and greenhouse gas emissions.

Ben Rawding, general manager of government and municipalities at JCB (Photo: JCB)

For JCB, the machine has proved popular. Last year plant hire firm Dawsons Group bought fifty of them to rent to local councils across the country because a previous order of eleven were all fully booked.   

But, with local councils under pressure to lead a switch towards emissions-free construction machinery, why is this work not being undertaken by a battery powered version? 

Certainly some emissions-free equipment is being used in the industry. Last year, Volvo Trucks supplied cement supplier CEMEX with its first fully electric and zero exhaust emission heavy-duty concrete mixer truck. CEMEX is also using the recently launched electric slipform paver from a collaboration between Leica Geosystems and Roos Groep.

Yet Ben Rawding, general manager of government and municipalities at JCB, says that although the company has been marketing battery powered road building equipment since 2018 and is fully committed to exploring alternative fuels, the higher costs of battery powered machines are still proving a barrier to many. 

“We have been focusing on sustainable practices, but one of the major challenges in the industry is the cost,” he says. “Commercially, cost is often seen as the initial barrier.” 

And JCB is not alone in worrying about the difficulties of getting greater industry adoption of  battery powered macchinery which often cost as much as twice the amount of its diesel alternative.

Swedish manufacturer Dynapac announced its first battery powered electric roller back in 2011 and has been expanding its battery-powered road building equipment range ever since to include electric compactors, pavers and vibratory plates.

Dynapac introduced the eCitypaver and eRoller to their lineup (Photo: Dynapac)

Seby Joseph, global marketing manager at Dynapac, says that recent falls in government subsidies for battery powered equipment makes it a harder sell.

“There is no motivation for companies to buy anymore because this equipment, from a purchase price point of view, can cost anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 times the diesel equivalent,” says Joseph. “The initial investment is a major concern for companies. The cost is the primary driver of this initial investment. The use of new technologies in the battery and the low volume levels results in higher costs for us to build this equipment.”

In May 2024, Sweden-based machinery manufacturer Atlas Copco, unveiled the prototype of its first battery powered industrial air compressor designed to solve the problem of accessing a power source for the tools needed in road construction when machinery is constantly on the move.

Maarten Vermeiren, vice president of marketing for the portable air division at Atlas Copco, says the B-Air 185-12 is the world’s first mobile screw compressor powered by a battery and is currently in production.

Vermeiren says that so far the market response to the new machine has been mixed, with potential customers in some European customers put off by the price.

“The price of the battery-driven compressor is a major factor; it is significantly more expensive than diesel-powered compressors, which makes it difficult to convince customers to switch,” he says. “In the Netherlands and Norway, where electrification is more advanced, it is easier to make a business case for the battery-driven compressor. However, in other countries, it’s harder to justify the switch.”

Patrick Zanen is global director of business development at US-based machinery manufacturer GOMACO, which launched a battery-powered slipform curb machine in 2021.

Patrick Zanen, global director of business development at GOMACO (Photo: GOMACO)

“There are different government perspectives on roadbuilding and sustainability,” he says. “From my years in the road construction machinery business, I’ve observed that it’s very much a business-driven model tied to financial aspects. Budgets play a key role in driving developments.”

“It is not feasible to create machines tailored to each country. Therefore, we’ve developed a modular concept to meet diverse requirements and build sustainable roads based on different specifications worldwide.”

JCB’s Rawding argues that encouraging rental companies, contractors and local and nationals governments to do more to move to emissions free road building equipment is just a small part of a far bigger picture.

“One common oversight is the lack of focus on the initial infrastructure project,” Rawding says. “It’s crucial to consider the entire lifecycle of the machinery, the sourcing of materials, and the maintenance of the road network. Neglecting these aspects means only looking at one element.”

EUPAVE, a not-for-profit concrete paving association in Europe, predicts that in future technical innovations and digitalisation will drive sustainability in the industry, with IOT devices enabling construction and maintenance crews to assess their work and find out exactly when roads need repairing.

“The use of sensors is becoming more and more commonplace in construction; in road building, it is slow in coming, but this is bound to change,” says Luc Rens, managing director at EUPAVE. “Modern sensors and communication tools provide answers to many questions: by measuring time and temperature and, thanks to the concrete’s maturity function, strength development can be continuously monitored and action can be taken at the right time.”

Shrinkage, moisture content, electrical resistance of the concrete in the mass and at the surface and thermal movements can also be measured. Rens says that with this information bundled in a ‘digital twin’, the industry should be able to monitor, assess and optimally manage the structure during the construction and operational phases.