Eight technology innovators have made it to the finish line in the Charge On Innovation Challenge, which focuses on novel electric truck charging solutions, a prerequisite for the electrification of haul truck fleets in mines.
BHP, Rio Tinto, and Vale are the founding patrons of the Challenge, which was facilitated by GHD, a leading professional services company. The competition invited vendors and technology innovators to collaborate with the mining industry to present novel electric truck charging solutions.
The eight finalists and their winning concepts are:
- ABB – A dual charging system solution for stationary and in-motion charging. This is to optimize the electric mine hauling operation with high power, the shortest charging initiation time and limited truck design impacts.
- Ampcontrol and Tritium (Australia) – A battery swap solution that is an end-to-end ultra-fast modular recharging station that is fully automated, relocatable, scalable and cell agnostic.
- BluVeinXL – A dynamic charging technology solution that enables the use of a grid supply to power the electric drive motors and charge the onboard vehicle battery simultaneously.
- DB Engineering & Consulting (DB E&C) and Echion Technologies – Their Catenary and Advanced Battery Technology system combines proven rail industry technology with cutting edge XNO™ battery chemistry to deliver an unrivalled electric solution.
- Hitachi Energy – Using Grid-eMotion™ Flash – a pioneering technology for sustainable e-mobility – the proposed solution will rapidly and safely charge the haul trucks’ batteries in just a few minutes.
- Shell Consortium – A decarbonised, cost neutral end-to-end interoperable electrification system that combines a high-powered battery solution with ultrafast charging and a standardised micro-grid energy system.
- Siemens – The patented solution combines a proven off-board energy source (trolley substation and overhead catenary) with on-board energy storage (LTO batteries) capable of dynamic 6C and >400kWh in-cycle charging.
- 3ME Technology – The company’s haul truck-specific Bladevolt® XL system will be scalable to fit varied truck sizes, composed of the optimum chemistry, cost-effective and compliant with the proposed charging infrastructure.
The eight innovators will now progress beyond the Challenge and collaborate with interested mining companies, OEMs and investors to accelerate the future roll-out of zero-emissions fleets.
Article Source: CHARGE ON INNOVATION CHALLENGE
Image Source: Charge On Innovation Challenge (Videograbs)