A 50-tonne truck becomes the largest electric vehicle in the world

A Swiss consortium of companies has set a new world record by building the largest electric vehicle in the world. The prototype is a tipper truck called the e-Dumper, weighing close to 50 tonnes, designed to operate on roads or in mining operations.

The prototype of this electric truck has a battery pack reaching 700 kWh, which delivers striking fuel savings and emissions reductions.

The vehicle weighs around 50 tonnes when empty and has a 65-tonne greater load capacity. To reach the driver’s seat, the driver has to climb nine steps past tyres that are almost two metres in diameter.

The e-Dumper is a zero-emission prototype featuring a battery pack reaching 700 kWh. The electric tipper can generate up to 40 kWh of energy every time it comes down a mountain, thanks to regenerative braking. Considering it only needs 30 kWh for the climb, the prototype feeds around 10 kWh back into the local electricity grid on each trip.

The e-Dumper is built on the basis of a Komatsu truck that was dismantled and rebuilt. Lithium Storage GmbH and Kuhn Schweiz AG (the two companies that developed the prototype) have swapped the truck’s diesel engine for a new 100% electric motor.

Komatsu’s dumper has been in service for two years, and the new prototype will be tested over the next decade at cement mines in Switzerland. The redesign of the model has had a total cost of nearly one million euros, and with this electric concept the manufacturers intend to assess the profitability of this type of vehicle. If the e-Dumper proves successful, Ciments Vigier SA could power up to eight 100% electric vehicles in the long term.