HIGH PROFILE
True electric haulers
Paul Moore reviews how the
first all electric mining haul
truck is coming to fruition, and
interviewed the CEO and
Member of the Board of KUHN
Holding, one of the two key
companies in the venture
rom this autumn in the Ciments Vigier SA
cement operation above Biel-Bienne in
Switzerland, a Komatsu HD605 mining
truck, which can handle 65 t loads, will
transport limestone from the La Tscharner
quarry down to the conveyor system. But it will
do so in a different way as what sounds like a
perpetual motion machine is gradually
becoming a reality. The innovative concept of the
prototype, backed by the Swiss Federal Office of
Energy, is that the Komatsu HD605, converted in
Switzerland, will not use diesel fuel or emit any
CO 2 during the twenty or so trips it makes each
day. Instead, the 110 t machine generates
electricity on the laden downhill run, which is
stored in the largest battery ever installed in a
vehicle. Some of this energy is used to power it
unladen back up to the extraction area, with the
surplus fed into the grid overnight.
Ciments Vigier SA commissioned
Arbeitsgemeinschaft (ARGE) eDumper,
consisting of KUHN Schweiz AG and Lithium
Storage GmbH, to build the first 100% electric
replacement of a diesel-engined vehicle of
identical construction. Vigier is prepared to pay
a substantial premium for such a vehicle, since
it will not need any diesel fuel over its planned
10-year life cycle and the company will not have
to pay any CO 2 compensation. The Swiss Federal
Office of Energy is making a financial contribution
to the non-amortisable additional costs for the
development and testing of this prototype and
has made it a condition that the know-how
acquired in the course of this project benefits the
Swiss research and industrial community.
F
76 International Mining | AUGUST 2017
A team of engineers and vehicle constructors,
in collaboration with various applied sciences
universities (BFH-CSEM Energy Storage
Research Centre of the Bern University of
Applied Sciences and NTB Interstate University
of Applied Sciences of Technology Buchs) and
the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials
Science and Technology (EMPA), set itself the
goal of planning and designing this vehicle by
early 2017 and constructing it by late summer
2017.
The challenges were expected, but in the final
analysis they were enormous: they have now
been overcome through an intensive
development phase. The consortium is now in
the process of building the special components.
Measurements taken in the La Tscharner
workings, simulations at the universities of
applied sciences, the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology (ETH) and the EMPA were used to
design the individual components. A vehicle of
this performance class has never been
constructed; capable of handling gradients of
13% when fully laden in the harshest
environmental conditions, with the 700 KWh
capacity batteries capable of handling currents
up to 3,000 amperes.
During each of the 20 downhill runs, the
batteries are charged by 40 KWh, making the
vehicle a net electricity exporter or Plus Energy
vehicle. This surplus is estimated at up to 200
KWh per day per vehicle. If the prognoses prove
correct and the new vehicle proves itself in use,
Ciments Vigier SA already envisages a possible
additional order and in the longer term might
operate up to eight 100% electric vehicles.
KUHN Schweiz AG, a subsidiary of the KUHN
group, which sells Komatsu equipment
throughout Europe, is also considering other
applications, such as tunnel-building or
construction work in residential areas which are
sensitive to exhaust gases and noise. “This
development enhances Switzerland’s standing
as a technology centre and highlights possible
new energy futures, true to the motto: safe –
clean – Swiss.” Franz Kissling answered some
key questions from IM on the project:
Q Where did the inspiration for the eDumper
project come from? Was it the result of the
mining and quarrying industry approaching
you?
The request came up during the handover of a
new Komatsu dump truck HD605 to Vigier
Ciment in Péry. Together with the quarry
manager we discussed a solution to transport
material in a CO 2 - neutral manner. After several
exchanges, we started the eDumper project, a
way to transport material without any
emissions, in fact, due to the use of gravity, we
are producing more electricity than we ware
consuming. We have started the company
eMining AG with our partners to develop the
project. This new company will develop and
produce electric mining equipment.
Q Since you released info have you had
approaches from the mainstream mining
industry such as coal and metal miners?