Another electric Liebherr crawler crane

Liebherr’s 160 tonne capacity LR 1160.1 unplugged crawler crane follows 220 and 250 tonne capacity models launched in December 2020

Details have been revealed of an electric version of Liebherr’s 160 tonne capacity LR 1160.1 lattice boom crawler crane. As with its bigger siblings – the 220 tonne capacity LR 1200.1 unplugged and the 250 tonne LR 1250.1 unplugged – the latest one can be operated via a mains power cable, or untethered, on batteries.

Battery capacity is designed to allow four hours of operation (or about 650 metres of crawler travel) and, “There are no compromises regarding performance or availability when compared with the diesel version,” Liebherr said. Recharging the battery can be done in 4.5 hours. Standard charging is 20 or 40 kW from a 32 or 63 Amp 400 Volt three-phase AC supply. An option is an 80 kW 125 Amp version for the shortest charging time.

The 700 Volt DC system onboard operates a 255 kW electric motor in place of the diesel engine to drive the hydraulic pumps. It has a 165 kW-hour capacity lithium-ion NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) battery as standard and there is a 198 kW-h option for longer running time.

Its 136 metre maximum lifting height and maximum lifting radius of 84 metres are the same as for the diesel version. A maximum boom and luffing jib combination of 52.1 plus 83 metres can be achieved, giving a total of 135.1 metres. On main boom-only with a 52.1 metre boom at 27 metres radius the chart shows it will lift 21 tonnes.

For transport the maximum component width is 3 metres. The basic machine is 37.5 tonnes, with A-frame and two winches. The crane is built at the Liebherr-Werk Nenzing plant in Austria.

An early adopter of the technology, existing unplugged crane customer Select Plant in the UK will get three units of the latest model. 

As more information becomes available look out for updates at: internationalcranes.media and in the magazine International Cranes and Specialized Transport.