Huber und Suhner : The world’s biggest electric vehicle with RADOX® cables

24/05/2018 08:14:00

Last year saw the construction of the world's biggest electric vehicle in Lommis, Switzerland. At a total weight of 110 tons, the Komatsu 605 HD dump truck, featuring RADOX® cables from HUBER+SUHNER, transports up to 65 tons of raw material and generates more electricity than it consumes.

By the end of 2017, Lithium Storage GmbH, which supplied the batteries and electric drive for the dump truck, working in cooperation with Kuhn Schweiz AG (which represents Komatsu in Europe), the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, various universities of applied sciences and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), had converted the vehicle from a diesel to an electric drive.

Storage of generated energy

In its new guise as an electric vehicle, this formerly diesel vehicle will save 130 tons of CO2 emissions per year and 50,000 liters of diesel. During the conversion, the diesel engine was replaced by a 590 kW (800 HP) synchronous electric motor with a torque of 9,500 Nm.The dump truck is to be used on a quarry above Biel, Switzerland. Making 20 descents per day while loaded, the vehicle will generate more electricity than it requires for the ascents. The energy recovered during the day will be stored in a 700-kWh battery and will subsequently be fed into the power grid. The daily energy surplus is estimated at approx. 200 kWh per vehicle.

Ten years' failure-free operation

This energy-generating vehicle is equipped with quality electrical wiring from HUBER+SUHNER. To meet the project requirements, the customer was offered a bespoke solution of type 125 RADOX® cables. The high power levels involved place considerable stress on the connecting cables between the drive, the lithium-ion battery and the energy recovery system. However, thanks to their aging and temperature resistance, RADOX® cables guarantee failure-free operation for at least ten years.

Innovative developments such as this suggest possible avenues for a clean and safe energy future for Switzerland as a technology leader.

During the 'eMove360° Europe 2017' international trade fair for Mobility 4.0, which took place in October of last year, this project won the 'Electric Vehicle' award.

The energy stored by regenerative braking during downhill stretches makes the

electric vehicle even more energy efficient.

Oliver Herrmann
Marketing Communication Manager
[e-mail]