Swiss company Greentech has been building specialized vehicles for a century. In the past, these included locomotives, cable cars, trolleybuses, construction machinery, agricultural, and army vehicles. As well as electric vehicles and aircraft. It decided to modify a 111 ton Komatsu Dumper by electrifying it with a 600kWh battery. This has been a great success.
The 600kWh Battery Alone Weighs 4.4 Tons
That’s actually pretty cool, said 2017 Formula E championship winner Lucas di Grassi after he took it for a spin. He had 75 tons of rocks onboard, and a 90% charge in the nickel manganese cobalt battery before he drove uphill from a mine in the eDumper.
“We arrived with 80% in the 600kWh battery, loaded up and on our way back, we recovered 8% so we came back with 88%”. The huge vehicle’s ability to recover regenerative energy was not all that impressed him, though. “I just saw the motor, it’s huge, and it’s super impressive.” The storage unit has 10 times the battery capacity and three times the power of three Formula E cars.
Watch the Monstrous Vehicle in Action Here
Greentech opened a window on the challenges they faced. “Electric motors offer torques of thousands of newton meters and a much higher speed range. The numerous auxiliary drives (e.g. hydraulic pumps, cooling systems) are not to be underestimated when it comes to energy requirements.”
Moreover, the recuperation of braking energy in large electric vehicles produces extremely high charging currents. However, the reward will be great given the high carbon emissions from combustion engines. We hope this is not a flash in the pan. The Driven Website reports:
“Each eDumper with a 600kWh battery can save the mining industry up to 13,250 gallons of diesel each year.” This should also reduce CO2 emissions by 130 tons annually. We hope they expand the program soon.
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Preview Image: Typical Mining Dumpster Truck
