LOAD & HAUL
ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL:
COULD BATTERIES REPLACE DIESEL? Suddenly it seems all pieces of the technological puzzle are falling into place. The battery revolution is under way – and one multinational OEM is convinced it can significantly change the energy landscape of the mining, and by extension the quarrying, industry.
J
une 2018 was a peak period of activity for Epiroc in Örebro, in central Sweden. An entire new generation of battery-powered mining machinery was to be launched in the following season, and a key person involved in that launch was Erik Svedlund, Epiroc’s marketing manager of vehicle electrification. Svedlund has been involved in outlining Epiroc’s vision of emission-free mining environments, made possible by battery power. “Electric will replace diesel,” he said. “The machines that we’re developing here already perform equally well or better than diesel machines, except for one thing – running time. But with the rate at which batteries are developing, it won’t be long before that has caught up too.” According to Epiroc, there has been “an explosion” in the market for electric-powered mining machines because the technology – primarily battery technology – has matured. Previous trials using electricity from cables or rails involved fixed and awkward solutions, and the flexibility required in a mine environment meant the decision traditionally 20
Quarry September 2019
The Epiroc E2 battery-operated underground drill rig.
came down in favour of diesel machines. At least, that is, until now. Svedlund became interested in batterypowered machines in 2010 and started studying the possibilities. “At the time I was
head of products and I quickly realised that battery power could not just replace diesel, but could become a profitable business for both us and our customers. I started lobbying internally to start the development of such
