29 Liebherr piling machines | Dossier E-Mobility Engineering | July/August 2026 or too cold we have it cooling or heating up. We have tested the machines in working outside temperatures from minus 26 to 65 C.” The machines are even wired for driverless operation when required – but this only comes into play when they arrive on a site. “They are transported on trucks, barges, railroad transportation, ships – so we use the remote control to offload them,” says Mewes. “We can drive the electric machine from the barge, the ship, the truck, and so it is not necessary for somebody to sit inside the cabin for unloading and uploading – but we can also do that with the diesel engine machines.” The machines are adaptable, with the capability of changing the tool in front of the leader to enable them to be used to carry out a variety of different construction operations. “Instead of the hammer, we can use a rotary head or, for soil mixing, we have two different devices, but all we have to do is change the tool; we never do any changes to the set-up of the machine.” Looking to the future Electric piling is clearly here to stay. The proven capabilities and heightened efficiency of the machines make them a financially sensible play, even without consideration of the positive environmental aspects or the increasing mandate of cities for emissions-free construction. “Electric energy-driven construction machines are definitely coming,” concludes Mewes. “This is the future – but there will always be improvements. We are already thinking about exchanging some hydraulic components now, like the hydraulic winches for the ropes and some of the hydraulic cylinders used to move the leader back and forward. There will be no change with the hydraulic hammer because it’s already a high-efficiency, perfect tool to drive these piles. Also, the rotary head stays the same for drilling the piles, but there is some investigation being done into further increasing the efficiency of the carrier and boom. “Although the weight is not relevant on site, it is for transportation because bigger and stronger also means more load to travel, and more cost. So, people are still looking for a lighter machine, but they also want the biggest hammer to drive the biggest piles – we have to balance that with stability. Development never ends and nobody knows where it goes next – maybe, one day, the rotary heads for the drilling machines will have electric motors. We do more and more for the individual components and it comes together as an overall improvement. It’s not Formula One – it’s much slower than that! – but it’s very much the same approach.” Specifications LRH 100.1 unplugged and LRH 200 unplugged Max drive power: 255 kW RPM: 1000 Battery capacity: 300 up to 600 kWh Charging: 20 kW at 32 A / 40 kW at 63 A / 80 kW at 125 A Capacity: 4–12 hours continuous use Max speed: 1.3–2 kph Hammer weight (max): 18,000 kg Pile length (max): 24.5 m Pile weight (max): 16 t Immense power is required – but electric motors can now deliver the same performance as the old diesel equivalents The proven capabilties and heightened efficiency make [the machines] a financially sensible play
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