by Xu Xinchen
Chinese construction machinery manufacturer, XCMG has rolled out a set of engineering wonders.
It is a set of heavy-duty electric construction machines that are the world’s best and ultimate in such engineering.
This beast weighs over 20 tons, with a load capacity of 7 tons — one of the most popular choices for loaders in the world. What stands them out is that they run fully on electricity.
The operator of the machine, Mr. Zhai was asked if the electric 7-ton loader is the world’s largest electric loader, and he replied: “Not anymore. We have also manufactured an 8-ton electric loader and that is the largest in the world.”
About the power system of this behemoth machine, the operator said “This is a very large vehicle and we need three electric motors to power it. Two motors for driving and one electric hydraulic motor to power the scraper.”
While it looks very similar to conventional loaders, wait until you see the inside.
It has a heavy door and it has air-conditioned inside.
It has a simpler layout and a touchscreen replacing the dashboard. Drivers can operate the heavy-duty beast with just a joystick. With a simple wiggle, the loader moves.
Zhai Genli, an engineer with the XCMG explained that “Electric motors respond faster than the conventional mechanical ones. It’s just like comparing an electric vehicle with a gasoline one. EVs accelerate much faster. And that quick response improves efficiency by 20%. The XCMG offers a wide range of electric construction machinery – loaders, excavators, and more. Fully electric machinery is considered to be the next big thing. However, the market share for XCMG has been tripling annually over the past three years.
China had led in the green transition for industrial machinery with the first batch of loaders running on natural gas – that was launched over a decade ago. Now these beasts are getting “electrified” and reaching the world.
XCMG is already China’s largest construction machinery exporter reaching over 190 countries and regions. Now the manufacturer aims to double its global reach for new energy products in 2024. Till last year, new energy-powered machinery from XCMG covered 13 different countries and regions.
On the global market reach, Mr. Guo Bin, Sales Representative for European Markets, XCMG
With rising awareness about the environment, the world including China is working actively to achieve carbon peak and neutrality goals. That means for construction machinery, the green transition is the megatrend.
The lead in green transition for construction machinery comes with China’s commitment to developing sustainable green energy technologies.
I spoke with the chief engineer for XCMG, also a deputy for China’s National People’s Congress.
Also, Shan Zenghai, the XCMG Chief Engineer explained that “President Xi Jinping cares very much about core technologies that cannot be sought or bought and often stall our development. Now, companies like us are working hard to develop these technologies on our own and we are achieving results.
According to Shan, over 90 percent of the main components at XCMG are made by the manufacturer itself. As the green drive continues to change global dynamics including demand for construction machineries, the deputy is bringing discussion on the green path for construction machineries to Beijing with his NPC peers.
-Xu Xinchen, CGTN, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province.
