MINE POWER
renewable energy that would otherwise have been curtailed and provide value to our clients in the process ,” Carrier said .
Under TUGLIQ ’ s vision , these ‘ green-charged ’ vehicles could also start to contribute to the wider power network at mine sites .
“ We could also potentially use the vehicles as stationary storage systems themselves ,” Carrier said . “ Many of these utility vehicles are used only 10-15 % of the time and have very predictable duty cycles . They could be used in a vehicle-to-grid scenario .”
As Carrier admitted , there are many technical difficulties to overcome to achieve such goals . In the nearer term , TUGLIQ is focused on electrifying utility and service vehicles at mine sites and making them fit-for-purpose for the Arctic climates it has become acclimatised to over the last decade . TUGLIQ deployed and operates the wind energy and battery storage implementation at the Glencore-owned Raglan Mine , where 6 MW of wind power capacity and a large battery energy storage system are in place . This is alongside a 40 kW solar photovoltaic array of mono-facial and bi-facial panels at the operation .
IM received an update on the winterised electric vehicle project last year , but , as Carrier made clear , much progress has been made , with advanced plans to deploy several converted Silverado / Sierra 2500 HD heavy-duty trucks in the Arctic early this year for mine site trials .
With several interested parties looking at trials before future possible deployments , Carrier said the company is racing against time to test them at the height of the Arctic winter .
“ We want to get it tested in winter with -30 ° C or -40 ° C temperatures , which is likely to be around Q1 ( the March quarter ),” he said . “ We want a few months of testing under harsh climatic conditions to really prove Arctic design performance .”
The retrofit kit that TUGLIQ and Quebec-based partner Ingenext have developed may not look too different from what other technology providers have devised for diesel-to-battery vehicle conversions , aside from the inclusion of an innovative hybrid thermal management system and sourcing OEM parts from used electric vehicles . Giving electric vehicle parts a second life is part of a circular economy framework , according to Carrier .
“ There are complications with extreme cold weather and operating electric vehicle batteries ,” Carrier explained . “ Batteries cannibalise themselves in cold temperatures to keep themselves warm . The cells are designed to operate within a certain temperature range and , if they fall below this range , the batteries use up their own energy to generate that heat . Cabin heating at these temperatures also draws a significant amount of energy from the battery , greatly diminishing range and idle time autonomy .”
The hybrid thermal management system TUGLIQ and Ingenext have in place on these vehicles uses diesel power as a “ safety net ” to ensure the battery cells operate within their “ sweetspot ” and the longevity of the battery remains .
Carrier said the goal is to have these electric vehicles running on 100 % battery power as much as possible , but he acknowledged that many of the diesel-powered vehicles out in the field are currently used for emergencies or impromptu deployments , meaning they remain dormant in the cold for several hours .
“ During summer , these vehicles would be allelectric ,” he said . “ In fact , in about 90 % of the use cases , it will be solely battery-powered , yet for certain applications and to retain trust in our product , we have manufactured the capability where diesel can kick in for heating purposes alongside the thermal management system . “ If the machine is idle in the field for 12 consecutive hours in winter , for instance , the battery wouldn ’ t be appropriate to use for heating and propulsion . This is where the hybrid thermal management system will come into play .”
Silverado and Sierra 2500 HDs – which are abundant in the Arctic mining sector , according to Carrier – might be the first vehicle up for such a retrofit , but TUGLIQ and Ingenext have a partnership in place to deploy battery-electric retrofit kits for other vehicles as well .
On top of the pick-up trucks ready for deployment , the two companies are engineering , designing and manufacturing another underground pick-up truck , bus and utility vehicle to be tested at Arctic mine sites next winter ( late-2022 / early-2023 ).
Concurrently with these developments , TUGLIQ has been busy in Nunavut sealing a joint venture to deploy wind energy at Agnico Eagle ’ s Hope Bay gold mine .
The company has previously been involved with project development on a planned installation at Hope Bay with former owner TMAC Resources , but it has recently , along with its partner Hiqiniq Energy Corporation , signed a memorandum of understanding with Agnico Eagle on a wind-based power project .
Hiqiniq Energy is a fully owned subsidiary of Kitikmeot Corporation , a 100 % Inuit-owned economic development company . The joint venture project is seeking to maximise the wind potential of the region to reduce diesel consumption at the mine while stimulating skilled knowledge building and economic development for Inuit communities in the Kitikmeot region .
Kristina Hamernik , Business Development at TUGLIQ , said the pilot project is looking at a phased approach , starting with a single wind turbine .
“ We ’ re really happy to see the industry recognising the success of our past projects and moving in that direction ,” she said . “ Certainly , there are lessons to learn from the Raglan project – even as this is a different project and site in a different territory . Yet , this is effectively a shovelready project as TMAC put it on firm footing prior to the acquisition by Agnico Eagle .”
Under the joint venture agreement , Hiqiniq would hold a 51 % stake in the project with TUGLIQ holding the remaining stake .
Such a business model has “ spinoff potential ”, according to Hamernik , and could see the company bring “ carbon reduction solutions ” to not only remote mine sites , but remote communities in the future .
Balancing the variability
Wärtsilä spotted the need to address the renewable curtailment issue TUGLIQ ’ s Carrier mentioned all the way back in 2017 , when it acquired Greensmith Energy , a grid-scale energy storage software and integrated solutions company .
The need to optimise energy systems , particularly the integration of renewables into
Wärtsilä can offer the integrated hardware , GEMS Digital Energy Platform and services for energy storage solutions
48 International Mining | JANUARY 2022