A quarry in Biel, Switzerland, uses the world’s largest electric vehicle, a 110-ton dump truck, to transport lime and marl stones from the mountain to the cement factory. And it does it without using any energy.
But how is this possible?
The 45-ton eDumper climbs up a 13% slope to pick up 65 tons of cargo. As it descends heavier, it recovers more energy than it consumes during the descent thanks to its regenerative braking system and recharges its battery.
Built by Kuhn Schweitz, the eDumper is based on the Komatsu HB 605-7 and measures 30 feet long, 14 feet wide and 14 feet high. It has giant 6-foot-high tires and a dump bed that exceeds 28 feet when fully raised. The vehicle has a large lithium battery with a capacity of 600 kWh and weighs about 9,000 pounds (4 tons).
CNN’s Formula E driver Lucas DiGrassi reported that when he tested the vehicle, he reached the top of the hill with 80% battery charge and recovered up to 88% on landing.
Traveling this route about 20 times a day, the eDumper generates more than 200 kWh of energy per day and saves 77 megawatt-hours of energy per year. Considering that a conventional dump truck consumes between 11,000 and 22,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year, this vehicle reduces carbon emissions by 196 metric tons per year.