December 26, 2014

The World’s Biggest Dump Truck is Electric

For the truck lovers out there – check out the BelAZ 75710 dump truck that is currently at work in a Siberian mine in the Kuzbass region of Russia.

By Melissa C. Lott

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

For the truck lovers out there - check out the BelAZ 75710 dump truck that is currently at work in a Siberian mine in the Kuzbass region of Russia. Purportedly the world's biggest dump truck, the BelAZ 75710 can transport more than 500 metric tons of material — all using four electric motors.

The truck is more than 20 meters (65.6 feet) long, almost ten meters (32.8 feet) wide, and eight meters (26 feet) high. It weighs 360 tons when empty and is powered using four Siemens 1,200 kilowatt (approximately 1,800 horsepower) electric motors. The truck also sports a top speed of 64 kilometers (40 miles) per hour.

While the drive system is electric, the system itself still relies on diesel to produce the electricity used onboard. According to Siemens, whose engineers designed the electric drive system for the BelAZ 75710, the electricity for the all-wheel drive system is provided by two generators, each of which is driven by a 16-cylinder diesel engine with an output of approximately 1,700 kilowatts.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

The BelAZ 75710's design was the result of a request from the truck's manufacturer, BelAZ, for a truck that could carry 25 percent more payload than the largest truck on that market at that time at a significant cost reduction in terms of cost per ton of transported materials. According to BelAZ, the new truck boasts a 25 percent efficiency increase compared to the previous designs. The truck was unveiled in October 2013 and, after being tested in the Siberian mine over the past year, is now hitting the markets. According to Siemens, the truck will be used primarily to transport coal and iron ore-bearing rocks.

Photo credit: Siemens

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American