Terex Powerscreen has launched its first hybrid-electric mobile jaw crusher, the Premiertrak 500E, specifically engineered to meet the stringent environmental and spatial constraints of urban demolition and recycling operations. Traditional mobile crushers rely entirely on a massive diesel engine to drive both the heavy jaw crushing mechanism and the tracked undercarriage, resulting in high fuel consumption, deafening noise, and significant dust generation. The Premiertrak 500E decouples the crushing drive from the prime mover, utilizing a plug-in electric architecture that fundamentally changes the machine's operational footprint.
At the core of the redesign is a 200 kW electric motor that directly powers the jaw crusher via a V-belt drive, completely replacing the diesel-hydraulic powertrain. When operating on a fixed urban site, the machine can be tethered directly to the local grid via a high-voltage cable reel, resulting in zero local emissions and near-silent operation. However, for transit between sites, the crusher is equipped with a self-charging lithium-ion battery pack and a small, highly efficient Stage V diesel engine that powers the tracks and a generator.
The most impressive engineering feat is the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) integrated into the crusher flywheel. When a dense piece of concrete or rebar momentarily jams the jaw, the immense rotational inertia of the flywheel is captured by a regenerative brake and fed back into the battery pack. This stored energy is then discharged to assist the electric motor when the jaw breaks through the obstruction, smoothing out the massive electrical current spikes that typically plague heavy electric crushing operations.
By moving the dust-generating diesel engine to a secondary, transit-only role and relying on electric drives for the heavy crushing cycles, the Premiertrak 500E reduces site noise by over 50% and cuts operational fuel costs by up to 60%. This allows demolition contractors to operate crushing equipment closer to residential zones without violating nighttime noise ordinances, drastically reducing the trucking costs associated with hauling debris to remote recycling yards.
