Electric vehicles have long been touted as a solution to vehicle emissions around the world. When powered by renewable energy and recycled at the end of their life, EVs can offer a machine that is far better for the environment than ones with combustion engines. Of course, though, this doesn’t mean that electric vehicles are right for every situation. Construction sites and other industrial work areas make EVs less promising, but there are several options already available on the market that can solve this problem. Whether you run a farm, a construction site, or a factory, can EVs work for your job site? Let’s find out.
The Charging Problem
Working remotely with a combustion-powered vehicle is easy. You just need to bring some extra fuel along with you and you will be able to keep going for hours and hours without having to make a trip back to base. The same can’t be said for EVs, though. Charging an EV remotely can be incredibly difficult, with many remote sites lacking mains electricity and relying on generators, instead. Thankfully, though, this is changing, with mobile electric vehicle charging becoming far better than it used to be. This makes it possible for companies with EVs to charge them wherever they like.
Maintenance
Maintenance can be another serious issue for EVs that are used remotely. Combustion engines have been around for so long that a lot of engineers and other members of your team are likely to be able to perform basic maintenance on them in a pinch. This isn’t the same when it comes to EVs, though. It can be much harder to make repairs and perform other types of maintenance on an EV, and this means that you may need to hire team members who have trained to work on vehicles like this in order to keep your business moving forwards when things go wrong. Either that or you build a fleet with redundant vehicles that can be used if something goes wrong.
Dangerous Components
This final area is an issue with both combustion and electric vehicles. Liquid fuel is often highly flammable, and this means that it can be risky to use it on a worksite that involves processes like welding. Likewise, though, the lithium found in EV batteries can also be extremely flammable, catching alight as soon as it makes contact with moisture in the air. Unlike fuel fires, though, battery fires can’t be put out with water, as this will only make them worse. Instead, you will need to have safety equipment available for dealing with fires like this, creating challenges for your team and giving you, even more, health and safety forms to fill out.
As you can see, EVs can be a challenging tool to use on a job site. Whether remote or inner-city, it’s crucial that those using machines like this are aware of the challenges and dangers that come with them. Of course, though, this is changing as EVs develop and get better and better.
