The Liebherr Werk Ehingen crane factory in Germany has announced a new plug-in version of its 50 tonne LTC 1050-3.1 compact crane.
The crane retains a conventional, low emissions internal combustion engine which complies with emissions Stage 5 and develops 243 kW (326 bhp). The engine can be fuelled with hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) enabling it to reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 90 % compared to fuelling it with diesel.
In addition, it has an electric motor that can be used for crane operations. The newly developed power unit with an electric motor develops 72 kW, enabling the crane to be operated without restriction, in other words with almost the same performance as using the six-cylinder engine. The electric motor uses the existing hydraulic pump, which is mounted direct on the powershift transmission on the conventional LTC 1050-3.1, to transfer the power to the consumers in the crane superstructure.
Only the electric motor and a distributor gear as well as the required control equipment must be added to the conventional LTC 1050-3.1 model to transform it into an electric version. The distributer gear is located directly between the crane pump and the powershift transmission. This enables the operator to switch flexibly between diesel-hydraulic power and electro-hydraulic power. Site current at 125 A is required to achieve full performance, but the crane also operates with a 63 A supply. Alternatively, it can operate using an external conventional battery pack if the site does not have the appropriate electrical infrastructure.
Liebherr supplies the electric model of the LTC 1050-3.1 with the 36 metre Telematik telescopic boom. The RemoteDrive option for remote-controlled driving and height-adjustable elevating cab are also available for the new crane. The prototype with the electric power unit is currently undergoing intensive testing and Liebherr is planning to deliver the first models in 2023.
“We want to be able to offer our customers full crane performance even with the alternative electric power unit,” said Dr Ulrich Hamme, technical director at Liebherr-Werk Ehingen. “The LTC 1050-3.1 still has a conventional internal combustion engine, powered by diesel or HVO, for driving on roads and for crane operations. However, as an alternative it also has an electric power unit for crane operations so that it generates zero emissions. That means that all the familiar usage properties of the crane will be retained, regardless of whether the crane operations are powered by its zero emission electric motor or its internal combustion engine.”