Liebherr Releases World's First All Electric Cement Mixer

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.

By

Published

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."

Wild, right? Like, who even knew World Cement was a magazine!?

Anyway, what do you guys think? Is two electrified pieces of heavy equipment in two weeks all we’re going to get for a while, or is this the start of a real change in the way job sites are equipped and run? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source | Images: Liebherr, via Motorpasión.

I've been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and have been a part of the Important Media Network since 2008. You can find me here, working on my Volvo fansite, riding a motorcycle around Chicago, or chasing my kids around Oak Park.

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.

After a good first quarter, April increased plugin registrations by 53% YoY, to 11,919 units, with the Dutch plugin vehicle (PEV) market reaching 40%...

In the first quarter of 2023, Volvo Trucks emerged as the market leader in heavy electric trucks across Europe and North America. The Swedish...

Even if you’ve been to an ACT Expo at some point in the last dozen or so years, the 2023 Advanced Clean Transportation show...

In Southern California, NFI, one of the biggest and oldest third-party supply chain solutions providers in the country, is growing its fleet of Class...