Caterpillar

Caterpillar has successfully demonstrated its first battery electric 793 large mining truck, and announced a significant investment to transform its Arizona-based proving ground into a sustainable testing and validation hub of the future. Caterpillar completed development of its first battery electric 793 prototype with support from key mining customers participating in Caterpillar’s Early Learner program. Participants of the program with definitive electrification agreements include BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, Newmont Corporation, Rio Tinto and Teck Resources Limited. Resource Industries Group president Denise Johnson said the global team came together to develop this battery truck at an accelerated pace to help customers meet their sustainability commitments. “This demonstration is a significant milestone, and we are excited for these trucks to get to work at customers’ sites around the world in the near future,” she said. The Early Learner program launched in 2021 and focuses on accelerating the development and validation of Caterpillar’s battery electric trucks at participating customers’ sites. This approach supports the individual commitments each Early Learner participant has made to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from their operations. A primary objective of the program is for Caterpillar to collaborate more closely with its customers as the industry undergoes transformational change through the energy transition. Early Learner customers came together to witness a live demonstration of Caterpillar’s prototype battery truck on a seven-kilometre course. During the event, Caterpillar monitored over 1100 data channels, gathering 110,000 data points per second, to validate simulation and engineering modeling capabilities. Fully loaded to its rated capacity, the truck achieved a top speed of 60 km/h. The loaded truck traveled one kilometre  up a 10 per cent grade at 12km/h. The truck also performed a one kilometre run on a 10 per cent downhill grade, capturing the energy that would normally be lost to heat and regenerating that energy to the battery. Upon completing the entire run, the truck maintained enough battery energy to perform additional complete cycles. Read More