Electric quarry loading UK first for Gallagher Group with the LiuGong 8110TE electric wheel loader

Electric quarry loading UK first for Gallagher Group, with the LiuGong 8110TE electric wheel loader also coming to Hillhead next week.

Peter Haddock went on site at its Gallagher Aggregates Hermitage Quarry in Kent to see the machine in action.

Its huge 706kW battery is charged from a newly installed 2.5MW substation and battery electric charging solution, which uses three Kempower fast chargers to deliver up to 600W of charging capacity. 

This is part of a £500,000 investment which gives the site access to up to 5.2MW of power for future investment.

Talking about the arrival of the 41,000Kg,  8110TE in the UK Harry Mellor explained:

“This is the second machine to enter Europe. We’ve had the first one working in a tunnelling operation in Norway. With its investment in the site infrastructure, Gallagher now has a great opportunity to realise the cost benefits of electric equipment in what is a fast moving limestone application.

Down in the quarry, Product Manager James Green highlighted some of the immediate benefits operators noticed loading with its 6.5 cubic metre bucket:

“Getting away from the diesel engine, we’re a lot quieter in the cab, and there’s a lot less vibration.

“With the 8110TE you’ve got even more power and torque than you have on the diesel machine, but you’ve got it more easily accessible. It’s just a slightly different way of delivering that power.”

“So it’s more productive for the operator because they’re more comfortable.”

You can see the machine in action at Hillhead next week with other large electric models, including a 50 tonne rigid dump truck, excavators and an all electric grader on the LiuGong stand D4.