Jump aboard the eDumper, the world's largest electric vehicle

Replaces trucks that burn 20,000 gallons of diesel

BIEL, Switzerland - While a single computer used to take up a whole room, now they comfortably fit inside your backpack to be easily carried around.


But the "eDumper" is a very different type of beast -- 110 tons heavy when fully loaded and powered by a 4.5-ton all-electric battery, this dump truck prototype is the largest electric vehicle (EV) in the world.


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Stopping power


Like all electric vehicles, the eDumper harnesses power from braking.

Through a process called regenerative braking, the eDumper's electric motor goes into reverse when the driver hits the brake pads, releasing electricity that can be stored and returned to the battery.


Even Lucas di Grassi -- the 2017 Formula E championship winner -- was surprised by the eDumper's regenerative braking capacity.


"We arrived with 80% battery, loaded up and on our way back, we recovered 8% so we came back with 88% -- that's actually pretty cool."

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Standing out


The eDumper's tires are more than six feet high allowing them to cope with inclines of 13%, even in harsh weather, while to reach the vehicle's cockpit, drivers have to negotiate nine stairs.

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For the 1.79m tall Di Grassi, it's quite impressive. "It is huge -- it's amazing."

With the eDumper's 600 KWh battery -- the same as about seven Tesla Model S 75Ds -- and the regenerative braking, the truck saves 50,000 tons of diesel each year and also reduces the CO2 footprint by 1.3 million kg every year.

"This is pure magic," de Grassi said. "That's the real-world application of EV. Making it cheaper, more efficient and greener. So, you're saving 50,000 tons of fuel per machine per year."



Looking ahead



And even though di Grassi races electric vehicles for a living, even he can't help but be astounded by the truck's sheer power and size.

"I understand it has 10 times the battery capacity and three times the power, so it has the same power as three Formula E cars," he said. "I just saw the motor, it's huge, it's super impressive."
