Lumina unveiled a prototype electric autonomous crawler dozer last month that has a 750-horsepower electric motor. According to press reports from the San Francisco event, the dozer can operate up to 8 to 10 hours. Once connected to a 300-kW fast charger, it’s ready to return to work in 75 minutes. It has a 414-kWh battery and a 15-foot blade.
The 32-ton electric dozer will be followed by a 100-ton unit, as Lumina sets itself up not as a seller of equipment, but as a seller of earthmoving as a service. It is targeting high-risk work sites and mining operations and is projecting revenue of $100 million in the next 24 months, according to media reports.
According to a report by Business Insider, Lumina compares the ML6 size to the Caterpillar D6 yet says it has more dozing capacity.
“A D6 could not push that blade,” David Wright, Lumina’s head of UK operations, told Business Insider. “We can have that blade full of material, full dozing seven to nine cubic meters of material, for eight to 10 hours.”
An array of 360-degree cameras allow the dozer to be operated remotely.
Below is video from the demonstration in San Francisco.
About the Author
Rod Sutton
Sutton served as the editorial lead of Construction Equipment from 2001 through 2025.