The donation supports affordable housing construction while showcasing how electric equipment can reduce noise, emissions and operating costs

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) and Ontario-based dealer Nors Group have partnered to donate an electric compact wheel loader to Habitat for Humanity GTA, supporting affordable housing construction while showcasing the potential of zero-emission equipment on active worksites.

The Volvo L25 is the non-profit’s first-ever electric construction machine. It’s a five-tonne, fully electric compact wheel loader with a 0.9-cubic-metre bucket capacity and a tipping load of 3,350 kg. Powered by a 40 kWh battery, the machine can operate for up to eight hours on a single charge.

Earlier in December, Habitat started using the electric loader at its Mayfield Build Factory to manufacture prefabricated wall panels. The loader is also being used for site preparation and the construction of a 30-home project in Brampton, Ont.

“Much of our equipment is older than some of our volunteers, so we are grateful for this generous and forward-thinking donation,” says Ene Underwood, CEO of Habitat GTA, in a press release.

Zero-emission meets housing mission

Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to build affordable housing in active residential communities, where noise pollution and emissions are a growing concern.

Electric equipment, says Ray Gallant, vice-president, sustainability and productivity services at Volvo CE and marketing manager at Volvo Trucks, offers a practical alternative to traditional construction equipment that runs on gas or diesel.

“Our purpose statement is we want to build a world we want to live in,” he says in an interview with Electric Autonomy. “Electric equipment and electric processes go a long way toward that. They’re cleaner for the environment, healthier for people around and have less noise pollution.”

The loader is also expected to improve productivity for operators and volunteers. Gallant notes that electrification enables the use of more efficient attachments, including electric systems in place of hydraulics, which can deliver meaningful efficiency and maintenance gains.

“This was a perfect vehicle to get out there,” says Gallant. “We’re helping build affordable housing with Habitat for Humanity, but we’re also contributing by putting machines on site that are better for the [environment] and economy than traditional machines.”

Electrifying construction equipment

The Volvo L25 Electric loader is one of a growing number of heavy-duty machines transitioning to electric power, from wheel loaders and excavators to forklifts.

Across the global construction sector, manufacturers, fleet owners and governments are accelerating efforts to electrify worksites—or, as Gallant puts it, make them “more energy efficient.”

“There’s a lot of work going into how we make construction sites much more efficient,” Gallant says. “It’s as much a culture change as it is a technology change. Technology change is the easy part; changing the culture is where you really see the benefits and the realization within our customers that they want to be part of it.”

That culture shift is already happening in places such as Quebec and Norway.

In Quebec, the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI) has launched a multi-year initiative to evaluate the operational, financial and environmental performance of electric heavy machinery under real-world conditions.

Running from 2025 to 2028, the Plug-in Fleet – Heavy Equipment project will partner with fleet operators to test equipment, share performance data and help mobilize the industry to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission construction equipment in the province.

Elsewhere, the City of Oslo, Norway, mandated at the start of 2025 that all municipal building and construction sites operate without fossil fuels. The city is now moving to extend those requirements to the private sector.

In November 2025, Oslo’s municipal government began preparing regulations that would require private construction projects to meet similar standards, including a mandate that 90 per cent of energy used on building and construction sites come from emission-free energy sources or biogas by 2030.