Electric Heavy Machinery

International equipment manufacturer Vermeer has unveiled a full-scale prototype of its Interlune excavator, a machine designed to ingest 100 metric tons of rocks and dirt per hour, extracting valuable helium as it makes its way across the surface … of the Moon.

UPDATE 08AUG26: Interlune and Vermeer have expand their partnership.

While Americans fret over whether or not electric vehicles are up to the challenge of hauling them back and forth to the Piggly Wiggly, Tonly is putting a fleet of advanced sodium battery electric haul trucks to work mining heavy ore.

DP World is electrifying its port fleet at the Brazilian Port of Santos with 15 battery-electric terminal trucks and three electric reach stackers in a move that marks another key step toward clean freight handling at one of Latin America’s busiest container ports.

It’s not just capable of driverless operation, the SANY SKT145Ei doesn’t even have a place for the driver to sit! The company’s latest all-electric heavy haul truck ditches the driver’s cab in favor of a millimeter-wave radar-guided sensor suite on a purpose-built architecture that hints at the future of zero emission mining.

Industrial mining giants Fortescue have been leading the charge towards electrifying every aspect of their operations – and last week, the company’s CEO took some time to actually get out and test drive some of the company’s newest battery-powered heavy machines.

Increasingly volatile fuel prices are making electric equipment options a need, rather than a want for many fleets, and Avant Tecno is working to meet that need with the new e727 electric wheel loader – the company’s largest offering in North America.

Full autonomy, big delivery numbers, and a push towards electrification that’s moving global markets? We must be talking about electric forklifts! On today’s uplifting episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got Big Joe CMO Martin Boyd here to walk us through some of the ways these battery powered equipment assets are making all our lives better.

In a massive deployment of self-driving trucks that makes most autonomous and electric vehicle deployments look tiny in comparison, Chinese heavy equipment brand Tonly just signed a deal to deliver 800 autonomous, “New Energy” mining trucks to Xinjiang Hanxiang.

This week, Chinese equipment brand LiuGong officially launched its battery-electric equipment and material handling asset portfolio in the United States and Canada, making it easier than ever for construction and forestry crews to decarbonize their fleets.

Kalmar began building its 45-ton ERG450 electric reach stackers at a Shanghai manufacturing plant back in 2023, aiming to bring heavy-duty cargo handler closer to potential customers across the Asian market. That investment appears to be paying off, with the company announcing four new orders from to close out Q2.

Volvo CE announced its first-ever electric articulated haul truck at last year’s Bauma construction expo; less than a year later, the first examples of Volvo’s new A30 Electric are in customers’ hands, doing real work.

Zijin Mining couldn’t find an ultra-class electric haul truck that could get the job done at its Wulagen mine in Wuqia County, Xinjiang, so they designed their own: a 140-ton BEV haul truck with a huge, 770 kWh swappable battery pack.

Then they built 290 of them. (!)

A Kalmar Ottawa T2 EV electric terminal tractor has been successfully deployed on an in-road charging system in Ljungby, Sweden, enabling continuous operation without ever needing to be plugged in.

This heavy equipment operator put seven, 20-ton battery electric wheel loaders and dozers from Chinese equipment brand XCMG to work for combined 17,370 (!) hours last year, and realized an “astonishing” cost savings.

Chinese equipment brand LiuGong is putting its 25-ton 870HE electric wheel loader to work at a STRABAG quarry in Slovenia, proving that electric vehicles can get the job done without the sky-high fuel costs associated with fossil fuels.

Danish engineering and powertrain experts Danfoss have developed a new digital hydraulic system designed specifically for electric construction equipment that can reduce energy consumption from the machine’s battery by 35%, and improve runtime by more than 50%. (!)

The new Battery Electric Power Unit (BEPU) from Caterpillar is a plug-and-play solution that can directly replace a diesel CAT engine in existing machines – occupying the same space, and even using the same motor mounts to make the conversion from diesel to electric (almost) as easy as swapping an engine.

Designed to work in tight, noise-sensitive environments while carrying up to 500 kg (~1,100 lbs.) for a full shift, the Ecovolve EL500 is a uniquely competent and capable electric equipment option that can make it through a conventional man door – and Brokk is bringing it to America.

Volvo CE and Hitachi Energy have signed an MOU to support and accelerate the deployment of battery electric construction equipment powered by a clean, renewable energy supply that’s backed by intelligent energy storage and management.

Built to allow up to 52 guests to explore the frozen wilderness of Alberta’s Jasper National Park in serene, environmentally responsible silence, the new Electric Ice Explorer joining Pursuit Banff’s Columbia Icefield Adventure fleet is a machine that’s packed with firsts.

Chinese multinational equipment brand SANY says its new, SY375E electric excavator will redefine heavy-duty performance and job site sustainability with its impressive range of capabilities – but one item leaps off the spec sheet: the massive, swappable 550 kWh CATL battery!