Do You Know About the Largest Electric Motors in the World?

July 12, 2017

You probably know by now that a lot of individuals and companies take advantage of the power, durability and efficiency of electric motors, but you might not have heard about a couple of the world’s largest electric motors. At Action Electric Motor & Pump Repair, it’s our business to know everything there is to know about electric motors, and that includes fantastic trivia! With that in mind, get ready to learn about a couple of our favorite “did you know” electric motor tales!

The largest truck in the world

We are experts in electric motor installation in Columbia, TN, and we always love to hear about vehicles utilizing electric motors for their own operations. One particularly incredible example is the largest truck in the world.

The vehicle we’re talking about is a mining truck: specifically, the GVW BelAZ 75710. This behemoth of a work vehicle weighs a whopping 360 tons—and that’s when it’s empty! When it’s full, it can get up to around 800 tons. It’s almost impossible to imagine just how heavy that is, but when you remember that moving all of this weight is made possible with the help of electric motors, it’s even more impressive.

In fact, this beast uses not one, not two, but four Siemens electric motors to get the job done. The motors run on electricity that is provided by two generators. The generators are powered by two 16-cylinder diesel engines.

The GVW BelAZ machines were first implemented in mines in Siberia, and they are an indispensable component of their work environments. Just imagine coming up next to one of them: over 20 meters in length, and nearly 10 meters high. When you compare the machine to an Airbus A380 airplane, you’ve got the same load volume capacity.

The superconductor ship motor

If you’re considering electric motor installation in Columbia, TN and are worried that you won’t get enough power, the story above probably helped allay some of that anxiety. But if you want even more proof, consider this impressive project of the U.S. Navy: successful load testing of the world’s very first high temperature superconductor (HTS), which is a motor that propels enormous vessels. It is a 36.5-megawatt motor that takes up less space than traditional motors, thanks to its cutting-edge design. This means more space on ships, and better efficiency overall. Superconductor motors are able to handle very high heat situations that would ordinarily be the undoing of other motors, and the 49,000 horsepower machine is capable of producing up to 2.9 million Newton-meters of torque!

If you want a good comparison, consider this one: the famous cruise ship known as the Queen Elizabeth II is powered by two 44-MW motors of the conventional variety. Each of the motors weighs in at 400 metric tons! In contrast, the HTS motor only weighs 75 metric tons. Now that’s an improvement!

Now is the right time to make arrangements for electric motor installation in Columbia, TN. You might not need to power a huge mining vehicle or Navy cruise ship, but you can get the same benefits that these machines get by utilizing an electric motor on your property. Give Action Electric Motor & Pump Repair a call today to get started!

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