The all-terrain electric vehicle manufacturer Xelom has unveiled a new all-electric groomer at indoor snow centre SnowWorld Zoetermeer near Rotterdam in The Netherlands.
The Italian company's Snow Cat electric groomer can run five hours on a single charge and generate 27,600 Nm (20,365 foot pounds) of torque, the company says.
Making zero-emission all-electric groomers is a major challenge for ski resorts around the world who have converted power to lifts and snowmaking systems to green electricity through the grid, but have greater problems when it comes to grooming tractors.
The major issue is creating a tractor powerful enough and with a long enough battery life to be viable in grooming slopes overnight. Companies like Prinoth are the market leaders in the technology with their Husky E-Motion. They also produce more powerful hybrid machines.
The Xelom groomer, one of several Prinoth competitors, was produced in partnership with snowmaking manufacturer TechnoAlpin, who are based near to Xelom's location.
"The Snow Cat is characterized by minimal maintenance requirements, operational efficiency, and a reduced environmental footprint," an Xelom press release claims, adding, "It is the zero-emission solution for snow grooming and particularly suitable for indoor areas such as ski halls. It emits very little heat during operation and contributes to significant energy savings for the facility."
Its blade is about 4.5 metres wide and its tiller is roughly 5.2m wide when open and the groomer connects to a 150 kW fast-charging system for a charging time of approximately two hours.