The JCB 19C-1 electric mini excavator has been awarded the UK Royal Academy of Engineering’s 2020 MacRobert Award. The MacRobert Award recognizes product innovation.
JCB is today celebrating the news that its electric mini excavator has scooped one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for engineering innovation.
The UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering has today announced that JCB’s ultra-quiet and zero emissions 19C-1E electric mini excavator has won the 2020 MacRobert Award. The MacRobert Award is a prize for innovation that has been presented since 1969 to honor a wide variety of engineering feats, including the CT scanner and Rolls-Royce’s Pegasus engine used in the Harrier jump jet.
JCB faced strong competition for this year’s award from two other shortlisted finalists: the all-electric I-PACE sports utility vehicle from Jaguar Land Rover and ecoSMRT® liquid natural gas reliquification technology from Babcock’s LGE business.
Lord Bamford | JCB Chairman
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Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng FRS, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award judging panel, said: “JCB’s electric digger is a huge engineering achievement. The team has developed all parts of the electric propulsion system to deliver system performance that matches real customer requirements. This is a huge achievement in itself, but the additional benefits of zero exhaust emissions and much lower noise has lifted the 19C-1E excavator to a new level.”
The 19C-1E excavator is the world’s first volume-produced fully electric mini excavator and with it, JCB has shown it is possible to make powerful construction machinery without an internal combustion engine. Hundreds of the machines have been sold and so far they have saved the equivalent of 33,290 lbs in CO2 emissions across 5,616 hours of work.
As well as significantly reducing carbon emissions, the electric mini excavator has zero exhaust emissions and very low noise levels. This combination makes it much better suited than traditional construction equipment for operating inside buildings or in areas where noise must be kept to a minimum, for example near hospitals and schools and in cities where night shift work is often necessary.
JCB is the world’s largest privately-owned manufacturer of construction and agricultural equipment. At 22 plants spanning four continents—and countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, India and Brazil—JCB manufactures a range of more than 300 products including Loadall telescopic handlers, backhoe loaders, excavators, wheel loaders, compact excavators, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, Access aerial work platforms, rough terrain forklifts, and Fastrac tractors. For more information, visit www.jcb.com.