Real-world data from Canadian company Groupe Bellemare is challenging the idea that electric heavy equipment only makes sense on paper. Through a three-year pilot with the Institut du véhicule innovant, the company has logged roughly 15,000 hours on battery-powered wheel loaders and excavators from LiuGong at a functioning job site. Electrek reports that Bellemare spent less than $54,000 on electricity from Hydro-Québec, compared with an estimated $423,000 in diesel costs for the machines that were replaced—a drop of more than 87% in fuel spending.
Bellemare operations manager Jason Lagacé described operating costs as "almost nil" and called the results eye-opening. The company says it plans to keep electrifying its heavy equipment fleet in its abrasives and minerals division beyond the pilot, which runs through 2028.
The Electrek article uses the results to push back against recent Wall Street Journal coverage suggesting electric machines struggle to compete even with diesel at $8 a gallon. It also points to Transport Canada data from Freightliner eCascadia pilots showing roughly $160,000 in savings per truck, and argues a lower-priced Tesla Semi would improve that figure. The source article is a single account, so those comparisons are not independently verified here.