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    Swap Beats Recharge: Rio Tinto, Chinese Partner Trying Efficient EV Option at Copper Mine

    Nov. 6, 2024
    Battery swapping technology is when a fully charged battery can be exchanged quickly in the place of a discharged one, instead of recharging the vehicle which requires a lengthy break at a static charging station. The technology already is in use on haul trucks in other mining operations across China.
    Image credit Tonly Trucks Overseas
    672b9fe92238924d2b364db5 Tonly Truck

    Global mining conglomerate Rio Tinto will demonstrate battery swap electric haul truck technology at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

    The company is partnered with China’s State Power Investment Corp. on the demonstration. Battery swapping technology is when a fully charged battery can be exchanged quickly in the place of a discharged one, instead of recharging the vehicle which requires a lengthy break at a static charging station.

    The technology already is in use on haul trucks in other mining operations across China. The Mongolia agreement allows Rio Tinto to try the battery swap and charging ecosystem at one of its operations in the region.

    “This demonstration will allow us to explore applications for battery swap technology that deliver more flexibility and less downtime than current static charging technologies,” Rio Tinto Chief Decarbonization Officer Jonathon McCarthy said in a statement. “This work will complement the electrification pilots of ultra class mining haul trucks planned for the Pilbara.

    “We look forward to partnering on more opportunities in the future to apply China’s innovations to the global resources sector and contribute to the world’s low-carbon transition,” McCarthy added.

    Fossil-fueled mobile equipment at a surface mine can contribute up to 30% of on-site greenhouse gas emissions, while large haul trucks can cause up to 50% of GHG emissions, according to the United Nations and other environmental studies.

    Technical crews from Rio Tinto and Oyu Tolgoi are working with the China State Power Investment Corp. and truck manufacturer Tonly to adjust designs. The trucks will be operated by You Tolgoi mine personnel and will perform tailings dam rehabilitation work and topsoil movement

    Each battery is expected to last up to 8 hours, depending on the work performed, and the battery swap process takes around 7 minutes, enabling increased use of the equipment through minimal charging downtime.

    The first truck is ready to arrive at Oyu Tolgoi this year. The remaining seven trucks, along with the battery swap and charging infrastructure, are expected to be in operation by mid-2025.

    The mining industry is traveling several paths to reach decarbonization goals. For example, Belgian chemical firm Solvay is working to improve energy efficiency at a Wyoming plant by trying a regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO) process to reduce emissions for the trona mining industry.

    BHP is utilizing truck electrification to reduce diesel usage and emissions at an ore mine in South America. Rio Tinto is exploring the use of biofuels and solar energy at additional facilities.

    Mining is one Sector in the C&I Energy Transition

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    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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