BHP, Rio Tinto, and Vale are launching a global challenge to electrify haul trucks and tackle CO2 emissions.
BHP Billiton announced the joint challenge today.
Calling it the Charge On Innovation Challenge, the three miners want innovators who can”…develop new concepts for large-scale haul truck electrification systems to help significantly cut emissions from surface mine operations and unlock safety, productivity, and operational improvements.”
“Current stationary charging systems require substantial time to charge large trucks, which would result in significant lost productivity. The mining industry needs multi-megawatt scale fast charging concepts capable of delivering around 400kWh to charge (and propel) a truck within the truck’s haul cycle (load, travel, dump, return, queue)”
If successful, the miners note an added benefit of potentially unlocking value, as electric motors have fewer moving parts when compared to standard equipment.
No cash award was mentioned for participating vendors, rather they will receive a “…rare opportunity to showcase your innovation and technology concept to three of the largest global mining companies and a large segment of the global mining industry [and] receive recognition for innovative thinking.”
“[Winners will have the] potential to receive development funding, in-kind support, equity, and purchase commitments from mining companies/consortiums.”
Rio Tinto has a market cap of A$195 billion, BHP A$240 billion.
Some miners have been dumping internal combustion engines. New Boliden’s Aitik has a fleet of electric trucks running on a trolley system. In 2019 Amplats announced it was converting its haul truck engines to fuel cells.
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