Swiss construction firm Liebherr recently announced
an all-electric first for heavy-duty construction sites. Meet the ETM — a
five-axle semi truck mixer based on the new 670 HP all-electric Volvo FM. It’s the first mixer that’s 100% electric, and 100% awesome.
First, let’s talk about what it means for the new
Liebherr to be “100% electric.” On conventional cement mixers, the truck
itself — the semi that “carries” the mixer — is powered by a diesel
engine. That seems fairly obvious, now that I type it out. The part that
might not be obvious, though, is that there’s sometimes a second
combustion engine spinning the drum. And, while Liebherr has offered an
electric drum drive model, this is the first time an electric mixer drum
drive has been mated to a fully electric truck chassis.
Got all that? Because, honestly, I barely
understand how the conventional hydraulic drums work. The electric ones,
meanwhile, seem pretty straightforward. Electrons spin the thing, the
thing mixes the stuff, the stuff comes out. I get it. Thankfully,
Liebherr explains some of the benefits of electrification like the
experts that they are, writing that, “For the first time, both the truck
and the truck mixer body are powered jointly by the traction battery,
eliminating the need for costly power electronics components. The new
Liebherr Generation 05 electrified body offers further advantages. The
compact electric drive for the mixing drum is flanged directly to the
drum and its high efficiency ensures that power consumption for
relieving the traction battery of the Futuricum truck remains low.”
Image Courtesy of Liebherr
Advantages not spelled out by Liebherr mirror those of the CASE 580 EV that debuted last week.
These include a quieter, cooler, less polluted environment for both the
workers on the job site and the “civilians” who live and work near the
site.
Leibherr claims other advantages, too. “(The ETM
1005) also eliminates the need for any hydraulic equipment. Liebherr’s
truck mixer body boasts a low net weight combined with good transport
volume, a long service life due to its special wear-resistant steel and
the ergonomic design of the operation system and access points,” writes Emily Thomas of World Cement.
“A platform system on both sides allows flexible positioning and
attachment of accessories or attachments to suit customer requirements.”
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/04/02/liebherr-releases-first-all-electric-cement-mixer/
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