French snow groomer manufacturer CM Dupon has launched the world’s first fully electric snow groomer of standard size, designed at the request of Compagnie des Alpes (CDA).
After testing in La Plagne last winter, the pre-production model of the Alpine B400 will go into operation this winter, with the company in discussion with several French and foreign ski resorts to deploy it.
This electric piste basher is fully rechargeable in two hours and a battery life of six hours. Its performance energy is twice as high as that of a combustion engine vehicle with instantaneous traction power.
The lifespan is estimated at 10 years, compared to 7 years on average for combustion engine models. Although the puchase cost is higher, over the lifetime of the vehicle it earns that back through lower operating costs.
Compagnie des Alpes, as part of its Net Zero goal of 2030, has commissioned CM Dupon to develop a long range H2 range hydrogen engine, which it plans to test in 2024 in one of its resorts.
Regular visitors to Ski Flight Free will know that they have already significantly reduced their carbon emissions by changing their fleet of snow groomers from diesel to biofuels.
