, which successfully converted a Caterpillar 777D into its E-777, a number of Chinese companies are also working hard on offering conversion options in China but also globally. The target is still the mid rangeRead More){kind=link}
While there have been some high profile battery conversions in the mining market – notably by Electric Power Conversions Australia (EPCA), which successfully converted a Caterpillar 777D into its E-777, a number of Chinese companies are also working hard on offering conversion options in China but also globally.
The target is still the mid range of mining truck sizes, with the upside of benefitting from battery technology today without having to wait for commercial versions of new trucks from the main OEMs; as well as breathing new life into older diesel trucks that are still structurally sound but using older inefficient and higher emissions engines.
It includes a diverse group with different business models and origins. First up are the Chinese truck OEMs themselves. Recently, the first three 55 t class TR60 mining dump truck ‘oil-to-electric’ retrofit upgrade models successfully rolled off the production line at Inner Mongolia North Hauler (NHL) in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China and were delivered to customers. NHL said that as a result, the battery retrofit technology for this model has now gone beyond the testing and verification stage and entered a new stage of mass conversion and delivery.
It added: “This demonstrates the technical reliability and maturity of NHL in the field of oil-to-electricity and the production process, while filling the gap in the electrification renovation of all models of mining dump trucks of 100 tons and below.”
It says that the upgraded TR60 models continue the mature and stable bearing and structural system of the original mining truck, while at the same time realise the complete innovation of the power system. It says the vehicle is equipped with a high energy density, high safety rating battery system and industry-leading energy recovery technology, completing a green transition from traditional fuel driven to electric powered.
NHL continues: “Compared with the transformation of larger tonnage mining trucks, the TR60 oil to electricity program has more universal promotion value, plus can benefit a wider range of mine application scenarios, and set a benchmark for the electric transformation of the industry. This breakthrough is not only an upgrade of product technology, but also a solid step toward greener and more intelligent mining equipment. It provides mine customers with a green transition path that offers both economic and environmental benefits.”
Then there are other retrofit players too with links to some of the largest players in battery production in China. Hongda Blasting and CATL formed the new joint venture Fujian Hongda Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (HATL) in December 2020, against the background of China’s 3060 decarbonisation goal – a commitment to hit peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. CATL is well known as one of the world’s leading lithium battery producers; while Hongda Blasting was founded in 1988 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of state-owned Guangdong Hongda. It is specialised in mining services for large and medium open pit mines plus underground mines, with a specific expertise in on-site mixed explosives. It is also experienced in mining equipment performance data analysis.
HATL-R100E converted trucks at Wenshan mine, Yunnan
HATL has developed its own wide body battery mining trucks for open pit mining ranging from the 60 t class HC90EA and HC90EB, to the 70 t class HC105E and 85 t HC135E. The largest model has a battery capacity of 704 kW/h and motor power/rated peak of 560/800kW. All the models use a 6 x 4 configuration. HATL also offers a 20 t class underground BEV truck, the HC33E.
But another big focus for HATL is remanufacturing to all electric operation for rigid mining trucks. In China, HATL has converted a significant number of Terex TR100 diesel trucks to battery (originally supplied by NHL), to which it gives its updated model name HAT-R100E. A large fleet of these is operating with Yunnan Hualian Zinc & Indium at the Wenshan mine in Yunnan.
And it has had success overseas, recently converting two Euclid EH1700 trucks to battery operation as the EH1700E for cement major and limestone miner Nuh Cement in Turkey as part of its Mission Zero program. Nuh Cement stated: “We’ve conducted multi-tiered research on HATL as a company and visited the actual operating mining areas of diesel-to-electric mining trucks in person. We witnessed the excellent performance of the modified electric trucks. The company has rich experience in this field and its team has performed well in R&D and design as well as on-site assembly and has a professional technical team for debugging testing, and after sales tracking.”
Interestingly, Nuh Cement has previously converted another Euclid truck – an R85 B – to battery operation together with ABB in 2024. In addition to overall system engineering, ABB’s contribution to the project included a BORDLINE® CC200, traction battery, an air-cooled traction motor, vehicle control electronics, a battery thermal management system, and a DC fast charger. This was meant to be the start of a major project to converting 10 mainly Euclid/Hitachi dump trucks with an average 160 t capacity, which had completed their 30-year service life, from diesel engine power to electric.
HATL cites a 10% higher power performance, and says the trucks have an emergency steering system to boost safety. Electrical braking power of 1,280 kW enhances safety and reliability with the traction motors having a rated power of 680 kW. It has a 360 degree surround view system with external cameras, eliminating driving blind spots. The trucks also have intelligent control with real time status monitoring, and have built in software making them autonomous ready. They have a stable climbing speed of 13.5 km/h on an 8% slope with a full load with a maximum climbing gradient of 20% and a maximum normal speed of 55 km/h. They use electric retarder braking with energy recovery on loaded downhills. MW charging means the trucks can be fully recharged in 45 minutes. They use a 1,000V DC platform for increased operating efficiency with the high power traction motors delivering output torque of up the 20,000 Nm.
Next up is Huigong (Hebei) Machinery Group, mainly known as Huigong Group, which is based in the industrial zone of Julu County in Hebei Province and has a major position in mining for supplying its own manufactured components – including electric wheel motors, gearboxes, control systems, transmissions, axles and others for mining trucks and shovels – including for models from Komatsu, XCMG, NHL, SANY and others.
From this it also developed a major mining truck maintenance service business, taking care of repairs at its own workshops or those of mining customers – using its trained people, its own components plus also components from other companies. One of its largest workshops is in Serbia working at the open pit copper mines now owned and operated by Serbia Zijin Copper, part of Zijin Mining. Hugong has over 50 people there, both Chinese and local. Huigong operates in Serbia as Huigong Mechanical Equipment Service DOO Bor. It has similar branches in Mongolia, Namibia, the UAE and the DRC.
It also developed a major Li-ion battery industry through two major Huigong subsidiaries, the manufacturing one being Xingdong Lithium Battery Technology Co Ltd (XDLE) with R&D carried out by Hebei Juyuan Lithium Battery Technology. XDLE focuses on the research and development and manufacturing of batteries and energy storage solutions. It is one of the top 20 lithium-ion battery manufacturers in China’s energy storage industry.
XDLE developed LFP prismatic semi solid state batteries specifically aimed for mining truck usage with a life of around 8,000 cycles compared to typical competitors in China with 4,000 to 4,500 cycles. Lulu Zhang, XDLE Battery Business Development Director told IM: “So we known when we put our battery in a mining truck it is good for use for at least 8 to 10 years. Another differentiator for us is that we manufacture the cells and make the packs ourselves in house. And we also produce the control cabinets and electric wheel motors within Huigong. So getting into battery conversions of mining trucks was a natural fit for us because we have all the most important parts. We are the only company in the world to make all of these components and have done since 2022.”
So Huigong and XDLE started to offer conversions from diesel to electric. This has already been done successfully in China – notably on mining trucks at Ansteel’s iron ore operations in Anshan, Liaoning which has included conversion of the 230 t class SANY SET230. Huigong says its electronic control system technology is leading in China and has been successfully applied to various models. The design includes a 4G remote information management platform, allowing users to remotely monitor and maintain the status of the vehicle in real time. Its vehicle control and high voltage frequency converter cabinet are designed independently, achieving modular and standardised design. Its DC/DC converters and DC/AC inverters use liquid cooling for higher efficiency and smaller size. System cloud platform monitoring offers remote monitoring of operating status and data.
Huigong is also starting to work with dealers and partners worldwide – NewSteel Mining, a Chilean company, has an exclusive contract with them to offer their system in Latin America and Australia. Rafael Arevalo, NewSteel CEO told IM that it has obtained Chilean copper giant Codelco’s approval as part of a MOU to convert some of its diesel water trucks and smaller class mining trucks to battery-powered operation starting in 2026.