Mr Samu Kukkonen (Chief Engineer Electric Drive - Normet)
Due to the challenges related to utilizing diesel fuel in underground applications and increased environmental awareness, mining industry continues to be more and more interested in battery powered mining vehicles. The benefits of using electricity instead of diesel to power the vehicles are obvious: i) there is less need to ventilate and cool the mine, ii) the vehicles themselves consume a lot less energy and recover it during downhill driving, and iii) working environment is made better due to less noise, emissions, and heat. These factors reduce the operational costs of the mining operation significantly. However, multiple different approaches and design paths exist for realizing battery electric mining vehicles and adjoining charging infrastructure. For feasible design approaches, the solutions utilized in on-road (and off-road commercial) electric vehicles should be studied for best-practices, solutions, and technology. This presentation discusses what can be learned and utilized from existing electric vehicle applications for the realization and benefit of battery electric mining vehicles.
