Mining giant Rio Tinto says it will partner with China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) to demonstrate battery swap electric haul truck technology at the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.
The two-year project will demonstrate a total of eight 91-tonne mining haul trucks, equiped with 13.8 MWh batteries, and a robotic battery swap and charging station.
Each battery is expected to be able to last up to 8 hours, though this depends on the work being performed, while the actual battery swap process takes around 7 minutes.
The Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, one of the larges copper and gold deposits in the world, was discovered in 2001 and is jointly owned by the government of Mongolia, which has 34% ownership, and Rio Tinto, which owns 66%.
The first of the trucks is expected to arrive at the mine sometime this year, with the remaining seven, along with the necessary battery swap and charging infrastructure, to be in operation by the middle of next year.
“By partnering with the State Power Investment Corporation, we will be demonstrating the latest technology and innovation available in China and assessing its potential to help decarbonise our operations quickly and cost effectively,” said Jonathon McCarthy, chief decarbonisation officer at Rio Tinto.
“This demonstration will allow us to explore applications for battery swap technology that deliver more flexibility and less downtime than current static charging technologies. This work will complement the electrification pilots of ultra class mining haul trucks planned for the Pilbara.
“We look forward to partnering on more opportunities in the future to apply China’s innovations to the global resources sector and contribute to the world’s low-carbon transition.”
Rio Tinto currently operates around 700 haul trucks across its operations around the globe, of which around 100 are classified as either small- or medium-class, meaning they measure in between a 100- to 200-tonne payload.
Battery swap technology – which, as the name suggests, swaps out an electric vehicle’s battery for a newly charged one, instead of having to undergo a stationary charge – could serve as an important electrification technology at hard-to-abate sites like mining projects.
Battery swap technology could also outmanoeuvre hydrogen-fuelled technologies in these hard-to-abate sectors, relying on existing mature and evolving battery technologies rather than building out new hydrogen production and fuelling infrastructure.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.