MINING TRUCKS
the electric technology in a way not possible before as TPG isn ’ t connected to the local utility grid and previously relied on six gensets . This is changing to meet the increasing energy demands of electric truck development and testing . Caterpillar is adding additional solar , wind and energy storage capabilities to provide a buffer between the site ’ s energy supply and demand . Infrastructure to support stationary and dynamic charging will also be added and everything will be managed using a digital system to orchestrate the site energy ecosystem in real time . This will all help Caterpillar better understand how customers will use renewable energy sources , and the impact this will have on people , processes , technology and infrastructure .
Komatsu on the path forward to more sustainable mining
The second keynote at The Electric Mine 2023 was given by Komatsu ’ s VP North America Engineering and Development , Dan Funcannon . He looked at how far mining has already come , and framed the transformation as a continuity of innovation , still focused on safety , productivity and optimisation but now with energy and carbon emissions as a major driver and everything that comes with that .
“ For all of these years , we have been inventing ways to improve mining productivity by making electrified mining equipment more efficient , more reliable and more available through improvements to serviceability and maintainability ... all these products and solutions have been developed to solve an industry need to improve TCO . And we ’ ve made huge progress . But now we are faced with this huge push to decarbonise almost every aspect of our life . We have to push this also into mining and now we are challenged with inventing the next generation of mining technologies .” He also emphasised that there are high stakes decisions being made – with big consequences , significant investment . But that there is also a huge push from everyone from shareholders to boards , regulators , to move faster and achieve progress towards zero emissions goals .
Funcannon said it is looking to introduce many new technologies to customers sites from energy storage to high powered charging and hydrogen , all in the safest way possible . He emphasised the need for strong partnerships , and also the new need for mine-wide control and optimisation to support sustainability goals .
He reminded the audience that Komatsu already has highly productive and reliable machines developed over many years for many different mining applications . It has industry leading FMS to maximise productivity , along with advanced analytics and the longest established autonomous haulage system . “ We have all these tools at our disposal – now we need to optimise these operations around a different set of criteria ... we have high speed data transmission technology along with the basic optimisation methodologies – including AI .” This will all facilitate the analysis and determination of the optimum operation of new equipment to the new sets of criteria and regulations . Komatsu is also developing additional functionality to optimise production based around energy consumption and carbon emissions .
In the bigger picture he highlighted the fact that all this orchestration must not only include onsite energy but also the entire energy grid to help optimise regional energy usage .
Like Johnson he talked about the product development approach massively changing . “ The normal process where we as an OEM develops a product based on the voice of the customer , validates it in secrecy and then introduces it to the market – is all out the window .” Because customers need to quickly understand the benefit of the new electric machines to their operation , along with the change management and deployment process . “ We are under a tight timeline so these things have to start in parallel .” These new technologies will require charging infrastructure , and in some cases trolley infrastructure and hydrogen infrastructure . “ Some of this technology and infrastructure takes years to plan and implement so we have to find new ways to work together .”
Lastly , Funcannon talked about its Power Agnostic haul truck approach , first announced in 2021 to more easily support new power sources for mining trucks . He said Komatsu will continue to support traditional diesel technologies , including diesel trolley , but at the same time developing solutions like battery trolley and hydrogen fuel cell power .
The week before The Electric Mine 2023 , Komatsu had gathered members of the company ’ s Greenhouse Gas ( GHG ) Alliance at its Arizona Proving Grounds ( AZPG ) to share progress and highlight knowledge gained since the EVX ( battery-powered haul truck ) was showcased at MINExpo 2021 .
At the event , alliance members had the
Members of the Komatsu ' s Greenhouse Gas ( GHG ) Alliance at the Komatsu Arizona Proving Grounds ( AZPG ) in May 2023
opportunity to directly observe advancements made over the past year related to the performance and sizing of batteries , engage in a discussion on recent progress within the regulatory environment , and learn how Komatsu plans to leverage the company ’ s trolley system to advance understanding of battery truck performance in a dynamic charging environment .
Specifically , alliance members saw the upgraded EVX ( battery ) truck running a circuit on battery , static charging of the battery with the truck hooked up to the trolley line via pantograph , and a run up the trolley line highlighting the battery being charged and increased speed in the dynamic environment .
The GHG Alliance was created to bring together mining industry leaders to work toward a shared goal of delivering zero-emissions equipment solutions . Alliance members have since been working to advance Komatsu ’ s power agnostic truck concept for a haulage vehicle that can run on a variety of power sources including diesel engine , battery and even hydrogen fuel cells with both static and dynamic charging capabilities .
Since the alliance was formed , membership has steadily grown and now includes Antofagasta Minerals , BHP , Boliden , Codelco , Freeport- McMoRan , Grupo Mexico , Kinross , Rio Tinto and Teck .
First principles with First Mode
First Mode , which is backed by Anglo American , is arguably one of the two most important OEMindependent zero emissions truck plays through the nuGen™ Zero Emissions Haulage Solution , the core of which is a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle based on existing truck retrofits – one of which has been completed to date – the 930E converted at Anglo ’ s Mogalakewna platinum mine in South Africa .
Rhae Adams , First Mode Chief Growth and Sustainability Officer spoke at The Electric Mine 2023 on : ‘ An end-to-end decarbonisation solution for heavy haul .’ He began : “ This
42 International Mining | JULY 2023