As the global "dual-carbon" goals advance steadily, the green transformation of the construction machinery industry has entered a critical phase. Cranes, a core category in this sector, are accelerating the deployment of new energy products at a rapid pace. At a recent industry technology seminar hosted by the China Construction Machinery Industry Association (CCMA), authoritative industry data and corporate case studies revealed that while leading enterprises like Zoomlion and XCMG have successfully launched a range of green innovative products-such as hybrid truck cranes and all-electric tower cranes-the penetration rate of new energy cranes remains low in the overall market. Stubborn issues like high costs and lagging infrastructure construction are becoming significant barriers to the industry's move toward a greener future.
Leading Enterprises Take the Lead, New Energy Products Show Initial Results
"Our XCMG hybrid all-terrain crane XCA300L8_HEV has been tested by professional institutions to reduce fuel consumption by over 30% and carbon emissions by nearly 40% compared to traditional fuel-powered models. It is now in stable use at several major domestic infrastructure projects, including the Sichuan-Tibet Railway," XCMG's Crane Machinery Business Unit stated in its 2024 annual report. According to Zoomlion's public performance report, the all-electric tower cranes it launched in 2024, leveraging their distinct advantages of zero emissions and low noise, successfully won bids for multiple key prefabricated construction projects in cities like Shenzhen and Shanghai, with annual sales exceeding 500 units. Sany Heavy Industry, meanwhile, focused on port operations, and its hydrogen fuel cell gantry cranes have entered commercial operation at Qingdao Port and Ningbo Port. Internal data from Qingdao Port shows that a single hydrogen refueling of these cranes can support 12 hours of continuous high-intensity operations, with a tested range of over 1,000 kilometers.
Data from the 2024 Construction Machinery Industry Development Report released by the CCMA indicates that in 2024, cumulative sales of new energy cranes (including all-electric, hybrid, and hydrogen fuel models) in China reached 12,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 85%. However, their share of the overall crane market was only 6.3%. In contrast, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles stood at 40.9% during the same period, and that of new energy excavators exceeded 10.5%-highlighting a significant gap in the market adoption of new energy cranes.
Multiple Challenges Restrict Promotion, Enterprises Face "Transformation Pains"
"While new energy cranes have obvious advantages in terms of environmental protection, their excessively high costs have seriously dampened customers' willingness to purchase," a senior executive from a well-known crane manufacturer bluntly stated at a recent closed-door industry meeting. According to a cost research analysis by the CCMA, the market price of a 25-ton all-electric truck crane is 40% to 60% higher than that of a fuel-powered crane of the same tonnage. Even when accounting for savings in subsequent fuel costs and maintenance expenses, professional financial models show that the investment payback period for customers purchasing new energy cranes still ranges from 5 to 8 years-far longer than the 3 to 4 years for traditional fuel-powered equipment.
Inadequate infrastructure is another major constraint. The National Charging Infrastructure Development Monitoring Report released by the National Energy Administration shows that the coverage rate of dedicated charging piles for construction machinery in China is currently less than 15%, with a highly unbalanced distribution. Most are concentrated in economically developed coastal areas in the east, while "charging difficulties" are common in central and western regions and remote construction sites. The construction of hydrogen refueling stations, essential for hydrogen fuel cranes, is even more delayed. Statistics from the China Hydrogen Energy Alliance show that by the end of 2024, fewer than 30 dedicated hydrogen refueling stations for construction machinery had been built nationwide-insufficient to support the large-scale operation of new energy cranes. "When our hydrogen fuel cranes are used at projects in other regions, we often have to rely on tankers to transport hydrogen over long distances. This not only increases transportation costs but also poses significant safety risks," a technician responsible for after-sales services of new energy products at Sany Heavy Industry said helplessly in an interview with reporters.
Furthermore, the industry's reliance on imported core components for new energy cranes is seriously hindering its development pace. At the China Construction Machinery Parts Industry Summit held in early 2025, a person in charge of R&D at Zoomlion revealed, "At present, Chinese enterprises mainly rely on foreign suppliers for key components such as battery cells, hydrogen fuel cell catalysts, and high-precision energy management systems. This not only keeps procurement costs high but also leads to unstable delivery cycles, seriously affecting enterprises' capacity expansion and product delivery."
Strengthening Policy Support is Essential, Multi-Party Collaboration Holds the Key to Breaking the Deadlock
Faced with the challenges of the industry's green transformation, many industry experts unanimously called for joint efforts from the government, enterprises, and all links in the industrial chain to overcome development difficulties at the recently held "Global Construction Machinery Sustainable Development Forum." "It is recommended that local governments include new energy cranes in the key support scope of 'new infrastructure,' provide purchase subsidies or tax relief for enterprises purchasing new energy equipment, and accelerate the construction of dedicated charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure for construction machinery to effectively lower the threshold for customer adoption," the Secretary-General of the Crane Machinery Branch of the CCMA pointed out in a speech at the forum.
In terms of policy implementation, some regions have taken the lead. In January 2025, Jiangsu Province issued the Implementation Plan for the Green Transformation of Construction Machinery, which clearly stipulates that enterprises purchasing new energy cranes will receive a subsidy of 15% of the equipment's selling price, with a maximum subsidy of 5 million yuan per project. Guangdong Province, in its 2025-2027 New Energy Infrastructure Construction Plan, proposed building 100 dedicated hydrogen refueling stations for construction machinery within the next three years, covering major ports, logistics parks, and concentrated areas of large-scale infrastructure projects in the province.
"Green transformation is a mandatory question for the crane industry, not an optional one," the President of the CCMA emphasized in an interview. With the continuous iteration and upgrading of technology, gradual cost reduction, and increasing policy support, the industry generally expects that the market share of new energy cranes in China will exceed 20% by 2027. However, before that, the industry must make every effort to overcome core technological bottlenecks, accelerate the improvement of supporting facilities, and actively explore and optimize business models. Only then can it successfully transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven" development and contribute a mature "China Solution" to the global green development of construction machinery
