Work begins today on the new manufacturing plant near Edinburgh which Danfoss said will create new jobs and enable Scotland to become a world-leader in a low-carbon technology.

Last month Danfoss took a majority share in Scots hydraulic specialists Artemis Intelligent Power.

The new 1500 square metre facility, to be built alongside Artemis’ existing Loanhead base, will manufacture high-tech digital hydraulic pumps and motors for off-highway vehicles such as excavators and wheel loaders.

The project will create more than 30 skilled jobs initially, and Danfoss predicts the export-led business will be worth £100 million annually within a decade, with up to 200 further jobs to come.

The team will officially break ground on the site using an excavator fitted with a Digital Displacement pump.

“Our first goal is for Artemis technology to be a key component in the $3.5 billion off-highway vehicle hydraulic machinery market,” said Eric Bretey, director, digital displacement at Danfoss, who heads up the Danfoss Scotland business.

“Vehicle manufacturers are asking for reliable, cost-effective solutions to reduce environmental impact and increase productivity, and Digital Displacement technology will provide just that.

“We estimate the emissions reduction of each Digital Displacement excavator will be the equivalent to taking 18 diesel family cars off the road. It is a technology which increases efficiency, reduces cost and pays for itself very quickly,” Bretey says.

Earlier this year, a consortium comprising Danfoss and Artemis secured £11 million from the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK to help develop digital displacement technology, alongside Scottish firm Robbie Fluid Engineering.

“The support of the Advanced Propulsion Centre has been an important catalyst in our collaboration in the off-highway sector and underscores our decision to make this major investment in the UK. In the years ahead, these pumps will become a core component in any off-highway machine which utilises hydraulic power, and there is enormous potential in other sectors too,” Bretey added.

In the off-highway market, the impact of digital displacement could be significant. In Greater London, for example, off-highway mobile machinery currently contributes ten percent of all NOx emissions and 11 percent of all PM10 emissions. Even with modest adoption rates, the technology is forecast to make CO2 savings of ten million tonnes globally over the first ten years of commercial operation.