Volker Wessels takes delivery of electric PV-E Crane

Following the announcement that Dutch crane and heavy equipment specialist PVE Cranes & Services was developing a series of fully battery-electric crawler cranes, Volker Wessels has officially taken delivery of the first PV-E Crane EC160. 

ICST editor Alex Dahm got a preview of the new EC160 crawler at the PV-E Crane factory in the Netherlands (Photo: Alex Dahm)

The major Dutch construction contractor ordered three units to add to its own equipment fleet for use on construction projects in the Netherlands.

The new 160 tonne capacity battery-electric crawler crane was handed over to the company at the PV-E Crane factory in Oosterhout, Netherlands. 

New models

PV-E Crane is working on a line of 100 per cent battery-powered lattice boom and telescopic boom crawler cranes.

The lattice boom models are the EC80, EC90, EC100, EC135 and EC160, in capacities as per the model numbers. Crawler telescopic boom models are the ECT65, ECT80 and the ECT120.

The first model produced was the 160 tonne capacity EC160. The unit for Volker Wessels has a 42 metre main boom boom and 43 metre luffing jib. Maximum main boom for this model is 75 metres. On a 63 metre main boom a 31 metre fixed jib can be added.

Fully electric

The electric motor (green) in the centre is flanked on the right by the hydraulic pumps and the hydraulic tank, while one of the two batteries is behind the tilted panel on the left. (Photo: Alex Dahm)

The EC160 has a 200 kW electric motor in place of a diesel engine, which is used to drive the hydraulic pumps as per a conventional hydraulic crawler crane.

Replacing the diesel tank is a 260 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack, arranged as two exchangeable units of 130 kWh each. These batteries are the latest development in traction cell technology and have some major advantages, the company said, for example, they contain no acids or heavy metals and are fully recyclable.

“Our aim is to make a substantial contribution to the transition to a low emission, healthier construction site,” said Rob van den Boogaard, PV-E Crane managing director. “The crane is fully CE and TÜV certified and has already been extensively tested in field conditions.”