Marlborough delivers pioneering electric excavator trial in Camden

May 18, 2026

Marlborough delivers pioneering electric excavator trial in Camden

  • By Marlborough Highways

At Marlborough Highways, we’re proud to be taking action to support a greener, cleaner London.

Working in partnership with Camden Council and leading industry partners, we recently delivered an electric excavator trial on a busy high street, demonstrating how low-emission plant can operate effectively in live urban environments.

Across London, thousands of diesel-powered machines remain in operation, contributing to emissions and noise on our streets. While electric alternatives offer clear environmental benefits, one of the key challenges has been how to keep them powered on site.

As part of our ongoing commitment to support our clients’ sustainability ambitions, we continue to explore practical, scalable solutions to overcome these barriers.

For this trial, we partnered with SMT GB, Volvo Construction Equipment and Charge Fairy — an on-demand mobile charging provider capable of bringing power directly to site. With no requirement for fixed charging infrastructure, the Volvo ECR25 electric excavator was able to operate throughout the day with no downtime for charging.

It was a pleasure to welcome our partners on the day, including Ed Lea (Founder, Charge Fairy), Mats Bredborg (Volvo CE), Tom Poulter (SMT GB) and Tim Hayes (Partner Development Manager), all of whom are playing an important role in driving this innovation forward.

Matthew Hoiles, our Head of Transport & Plant, said: “Projects like our recent trial in Camden demonstrate what can be achieved when partners align behind a shared goal. Delivering electric plant in urban environments has long presented challenges, but by bringing power directly to the point of use, we’ve shown it can be done efficiently, safely and with minimal disruption. As we continue to progress our sustainability ambitions, these insights will directly inform the steps we take in the months and years ahead.”

“One of the things I value most is their very collaborative and transparent team culture. It makes a big difference to have a contractor that wants to work closely with us and is supportive and responsive. With Marlborough, I get a team who are attentive, work collaboratively and honestly with me and don’t lose focus on delivering first class communications and compliance.”
Carly Norris, Project Manager Operations, Hackney Council
“From the design stage, Marlborough has been fundamental in delivering the Broad Lane Square improvements scheme. During the works, not only did the team manage to keep to the programme, but they went the extra mile to ensure attention to detail and came up with innovative solutions to address issues encountered on site. My thanks on behalf of Haringey goes out to Marlborough for their dedication to deliver.”
Dana Rasheed, Project Manager, Haringey Council
“Working alongside our Term Service Contractor Marlborough Highways, we successfully completed renovations to the Crowstone Footbridge. The designs were provided by Marlborough, and the work was unique. The scheme was completed to budget and ahead of its programme duration.”
Neil Handley, Senior Engineer, Southend-on-Sea City Council
“I would like to thank you and your team for your efforts, the Marlborough crews were professional, courteous, and hard working all day and ensured the event went without a hitch. You and the team were a credit to the company, demonstrating commitment and support to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.”
Nick Davies, Specialist Services Manager, Barking and Dagenham Council
“I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to work with Marlborough Highways over the last six months. The quality of work is superb, and there has been some excellent collaboration between Milestone and Marlborough to complete, what at times, has been quite a challenging scheme. I hope to work with Marlborough on another project in the near future.”
Colin Hill, Schemes Manager, Milestone Infrastructure
“Marlborough worked with us in constructing a 1.3km cycle track. There were a number of technical difficulties to overcome, and their gifted foreman worked to propose some innovative solutions to the challenges we faced. The result is a facility that the locals are proud of, providing walkers and cyclists with alternative access to the hospital and nearby school. The scheme was a lot of hard work, but well worth it.”
Rob Venables, NEC Project Manager, Essex County Council
“Marlborough attracts people who take care and have pride in their work. Several gangs of Operatives worked tirelessly for six months to reconstruct drainage networks, lay more than 3km of high quality bespoke granite kerbs and granite channels blocks to ensure positive drainage. The technical compliance, attention to detail and level of quality finish along the entire carriageway was exceptional”.
Mark Chiverrell, Technical Director, Project Centre
“We saw huge benefits in appointing Marlborough as our full service contractor and we’re impressed – they’ve delivered consistent high quality service and superior quality control across every project. Marlborough, provide us with a ‘one-stop’ shop solution – we get the same quality of service and better control across all aspects of the project.”
Darren Bryant, Principal Engineer, Enfield Council

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