Select buys world's biggest electric drill [– with video]

Select already owns six battery-powered crawler cranes made by Liebherr Nenzing in Austria. It now has an electric drill rig from the same factory.

Like the other Unplugged machines, the LB 30 Unplugged not only produces zero tailpipe emissions but also has the same performance as its diesel-powered counterparts. It can operate with equal power either plugged into a power source for charging or unplugged and operating off its battery pack.

The battery has been designed for a working time of four hours in Kelly operation.

Select said that emission-free plant – or at least machines with no tailpipe emissions – now makes up 80% of its fleet.

Select’s business unit leader Alex Warrington said: “Our customers are asked by their clients how they can construct and deliver in a more sustainable way, and it’s becoming a point of difference in work winning decisions. Thanks to our partnerships with innovators like Liebherr, we can now offer plant and equipment to our customers that dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Our zero emissions equipment for hire includes a wide range of electric crawler and tower cranes, passenger and material hoists, concrete pumps, MEWPS and now our brand new unplugged piling rig.”

Liebherr GB managing director Richard Everist said: “We were delighted to be able to deliver the world’s first electric crawler crane, the LR 1250, to Select in 2020, and since then several more all-electric zero emission cranes, which are now working on high profile sites around the UK. The fact that we can now announce another world first, the LB 30 Unplugged electric drilling rig, is testament to Select’s industry leading drive for greater sustainability in construction and to Liebherr innovation.”

The new LB30 drilling rig can be used for all common applications in the field of deep foundation. Thanks to the optional extension of the drilling axis, the machine can be deployed for drilling diameters of up to 3.4 metres.

The rig arrived in the UK recently and is currently undergoing operator and technician familiarisation, ahead of it being deployed to work on a major UK project.

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