Liebherr electric excavator just reached a huge milestone – moving its one-millionth ton of dirt!
That’s right, this electric excavator has been working hard at the Fortescue mine in Western Australia, and it’s doing such a great job that the company wants two more. After a 3-month learning period to get used to the new technology, this electric digger is now running at full speed.
“This is a big deal for Fortescue and our efforts to go green,” says Fortescue Metals CEO Dino Otranto. “Even better, we haven’t had to sacrifice safety while making this switch. In fact, by the end of April, we’ll have two more of these electric excavators working for us.
Once we completely convert our entire fleet to electric, we expect to cut out using about 95 million liters of diesel fuel every year. That’s a huge win for the environment – we’re talking about reducing carbon emissions by over a quarter of a million tons!”
But how does this giant electric excavator stay charged up? To keep its batteries full, it uses a mix of renewable solar power and electricity from a nearby substation. The electricity travels through a long cable, over two kilometers long, to reach the excavator. This is just the beginning for Fortescue, though. Their ultimate goal is to power all their mining equipment with completely renewable sources like solar power.
