Electric Forestry Equipment

forwarders · harvesters · hybrid · charging gap

A harvester or forwarder works far from any grid connection and runs hard all shift. Forestry electrifies as series hybrids with electric drives first; battery-only machines are small forwarders.

Diagram of the cut-to-length chain: harvester (fells and processes) to forwarder (hauls logs out) to roadside landing to log truck (to the mill). Below, four machines: Ponsse EV1, battery drive with a range extender; Elforest F15, series-hybrid forwarder; Logset GTE Hybrid, diesel-electric with an energy store; Kranman Bison Electric, a battery-only small forwarder. Note: there is no grid in the cutting block, the machines move with the work and fuel comes by truck, so energy has to be made or carried on board. CUT-TO-LENGTH CHAIN: WHERE THE ENERGY GOES Harvester Forwarder Roadside Log truck Fells and processes Hauls logs out Landing To the mill Ponsse EV1 Battery drive, range extender Elforest F15 Series-hybrid forwarder Logset GTE Hybrid Diesel-electric, energy store Kranman Bison Electric Battery-only small forwarder No grid in the cutting block: the machines move with the work and fuel comes by truck, so the energy has to be made or carried on board.
Machines tracked
5
Battery-electric
1
Hybrid-electric
4
Chinese makers
None found
Hub
Vehicles

Finding

No full-size harvester or forwarder runs on batteries alone: the machines on offer are series hybrids, in which an engine-generator feeds electric drives and an energy store covers crane and traction peaks, plus small battery forwarders for thinning and sensitive sites

Ponsse's EV1 concept is a 15-ton forwarder whose powertrain runs entirely on battery energy, with a combustion range extender charging the pack; testing continues and Ponsse has given no launch date. Logset sells GTE Hybrid harvesters and forwarders, Elforest builds series-hybrid forwarders, and Kranman's small Bison forwarders run on batteries alone.

Forestry has no plug. A cut-to-length crew works a cutting block for days, then the machines move on by low-loader; the nearest grid connection may be many kilometers away and diesel arrives by tanker. A harvester's head and crane draw high hydraulic power through the whole shift, so a battery-only harvester would need a pack far larger than a machine on soft ground can carry, plus a charger hauled to every block. Series hybrids get most of the benefit now: a smaller engine runs at its best point, electric traction gives fine wheel-slip control on soft ground, and energy from lowering the crane and loads is recovered instead of turned into heat.

Automation is arriving in the crane rather than the cab. Ponsse, Komatsu Forest and John Deere sell crane-tip control and assisted boom functions that let the operator steer the grapple instead of each joint, the first step toward semi-autonomous loading; remote and autonomous forwarding remain research projects in Sweden and Finland. China's forestry machinery market is small and relies largely on imported or manual equipment; no Chinese battery or hybrid forest machine with published specifications was found.

Machine list

Electric and hybrid forestry machines

Battery-electric first, then hybrid-electric.

Electric and hybrid forestry machines
ModelTypeCountryPowertrainEnergy systemLoad tAutonomyStatusNotes
Bison Electric (Kranman)forwarderSwedenbattery-electricOn-board ACnonein productionSmall forwarder for thinning, parks and sensitive sites
F15 (Elforest)forwarderSwedenhybrid-electricSeries hybrid: diesel generator, battery, electric drive15assistin production
12H GTE Hybrid (Logset)harvesterFinlandhybrid-electricDiesel-electric hybrid; electric motor and energy store cover peaksassistin production
5F GTE Hybrid (Logset)forwarderFinlandhybrid-electricDiesel-electric hybrid; electric motor and energy store cover peaksassistin production
EV1 (Ponsse)forwarderFinlandhybrid-electricBattery drives everything; a combustion range extender charges it15assistprototypeConcept shown 2021; testing ongoing

Machine types

Forestry machines and their electrification path

Forestry machine types and electrification path
MachineJobPathExamples
HarvesterFells, delimbs and cuts to lengthSeries hybrid; battery-only not in sightLogset 12H GTE Hybrid
ForwarderCarries logs to the roadsideSeries hybrid now; battery with range extender nextPonsse EV1, Elforest F15, Logset 5F GTE Hybrid
Small forwarderThinning, parks, sensitive groundBattery-electricKranman Bison Electric
Skidder and feller buncherWhole-tree logging (North America)Diesel; hybrid prototypes onlyNone in series production
Log loader and chipperLanding and mill yard workGrid or battery at fixed yardsElectric material handlers at mills

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Electric Forestry Machines
Sources
Ponsse; Logset; Elforest; Kranman; Manufacturing.net; Oct 2026
Updated
October 2026