Vigier cement work's quarry, near the Swiss town of Bienne revealed the largest electrical vehicle in the world on Friday 20 April.
The E-Dumper named 'Lynx' weighs 58t empty, with tyres measuring 2m in diameter and nine steps up to the drivers' cabin. It was built from a diesel-powered dump truck. The fuel tank was replaced by the biggest battery ever made for an electric vehicle, which weighs 4.5t.
The vehicle was formerly a diesel Komatsu dumper truck, which was disassembled and reconstructed at Kuhn Schweiz AG in Lommis into an electrical vehicle. Carrying an estimated 300,000t of material, provisional estimates say it should save up to 1300t of CO2 and 500,000 litres of diesel fuel over the next decade.
Lynx was designed to carry limestone and sedimentary rock from a mining region at altitude to a processing plant lower down. During the descent with a full load, the battery is recharged by converting the energy from braking. The electricity produced allows the driver to climb back up the hill with the truck empty. Therefore, its designers say its energy consumption is zero. A study of its operations in the coming months will allow a more precise evaluation in terms of energy. The project is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.
