CHARGING SOLUTIONS
The OEM is developing a new in-housedesigned charger suited to the realities of the harsh underground mining environment.
This 480 kW charger is right-sized for opportunity charging of not only Epiroc’ s load and haul, and drilling equipment, but also other battery machines coming into a mine’ s operational fleet – support and utility vehicles, for instance.
It is equipped with a connection device that allows opportunity charging to be conducted up to 300 m from the power source, providing the required flexibility around the underground site.
“ This is a‘ dynamic’ charging solution,” Jérôme Cloué, Vice President of Electrification for Epiroc, told IM, explaining that multiple battery-electric machines can be charged simultaneously with the ability to prioritise certain machines over others depending on capacities, work requirements, power availability and more.
The ability to integrate the charger with an energy storage solution further aids flexibility, with mining operations able to plug into such a source for economic reasons – should the price of energy be higher at certain times of the day – or operational reasons – where the power quality / reliability may be less-than-optimal.
“ The charger is also liquid cooled, which we believe will provide improved uptime compared with other chargers that use air cooling and may require regular maintenance,” he added.“ This is enabled by an intelligent thermal management system that ensures the charger operates to its full ability and enables the battery-electric fleet to be utilised to its full capacity.”
The charger in question is scheduled for commercial launch in December this year, however it is already being trialled at an underground mine site in Canada, according to Cloué.
“ We also plan to factor in both CCS and MCS connection options with this charger, ensuring it has the flexibility to charge as many battery machines as possible,” he concluded. solutions for mining equipment are designed to meet the evolving needs of the industry. With a focus on scalability and modularity, our systems ensure seamless integration and expansion, allowing mining operations to grow without constraints.
“ Our high-power chargers enable rapid charging, minimising downtime and maximising productivity.”
The concept it was promoting in Munich was for a capacity of up to 2 MW. The modularity and scalability of the solution could see multiple containerised units integrated to create 8 MW of charging power or beyond.
It explained:“ Each charging unit is designed to be easily expandable, accommodating the increasing energy demands of growing mining operations. The modular architecture allows for flexible deployment, ensuring optimal performance across diverse mining environments.
“ By integrating our solutions, mining companies can achieve significant reductions in operational costs and carbon footprint, while maintaining high efficiency and reliability.”
ABB bringing automated charging to BEVs
It was a MINExpo 2024 technology demonstrator debut that got everyone talking – again – about ABB’ s mining charging solutions, thanks to the display of the eMine™ Robot Automated Connection Device( ACD).
The ACD, developed with Boliden, BHP and Komatsu to enable safe and efficient, high-power charging in the journey towards the all-electric mine of the future, will allow for more reliable and efficient truck charging without the need for human intervention,
Wabtec’ s new charging concept
Also at bauma 2025, Wabtec showcased a mining charger setup for mobile equipment, all of which leverages energy and data transfer components and systems expertise from Stemman-Technik, a Wabtec company.
Stemman-Technik has delivered charging solutions with up to 15 MW capacities for the port and maritime sectors, and it now plans on using this knowledge – plus Wabtec’ s wider mine electrification expertise – to expand into the battery-electric mining equipment charging space.
Wabtec explained:“ The future of mining is electrified. Our cutting-edge charging
A technology demonstrator for the eMine Robot Automated Connection Device was showcased at MINExpo 2024
18 International Mining | MAY 2025