Caterpillar presents the first 100% electric dumper

25 November, 2022

When we talk about electric vehicles, we usually refer to cars, delivery vans and even trucks for transporting goods by road. But there are other vehicles that we don't usually think of when we refer to these. Industrial vehicles, those that work in industrial processes are also large emitters of polluting gases and are the next to be transformed. Caterpillar is a brand specialized in this type of vehicle and is also working to take this big step. At the moment, we knew that the company had presented a dumper model, a truck for mining that moves with electric motors.

The Cat® 798C use two electric motors, but they were powered by the power produced by a huge 85,000 cubic centimeter diesel engine. This offered a power of 3,500 CV. Now, the Cat 793 runs on batteries, which makes it a commercial vehicle of the brand with 0 emissions.

Test period

The Cat 793 is a dumper that is undergoing various tests in the company's proving ground. In a demonstration to several of its major customers, Caterpillar has put the vehicle through its paces. This was able to cover one kilometer on a course with a 10% gradient at a constant speed of 12 km/h, fully charged. Then he made the opposite journey, down. This journey was used to charge the battery, thanks to the energy recovery system. After the test was done, the batteries had enough charge to cycle several times.

Of course, the company has not specified the autonomy offered by this vehicle. We have to remember that it is extremely heavy and that it has to move a large amount of material on each journey.

The conventional Cat 793, with a diesel engine, can transport a total of 252 tons and has a total gross weight of 386 tons. The Cat 793's batteries are located under the axle, although more batteries could be added where the diesel generator currently is on hybrid models. These first tests will serve to obtain data that will help put these large electric vehicles on the market.