Swedish commercial vehicles giant Scania and LKAB have come together to operate electric trucks in mining operations. Scania shared the news, as the two companies together take a step towards the future and sustainable transport for this industry.
Both Scania and LKAB operate in industries that are currently undergoing massive transformations to reach higher sustainability goals.
Two electric vehicles will operate in the LKAB mine in Malmberget, in northern Sweden. A Scania electric Heavy Tipper alongside an electric crane truck specially adapted for these mining tasks.
LKAB strives to become one of the most sustainable mining companies in the world. Thus, electrifying transport would play an important role along with cleaner mining practices.
The heavy tipper will transport residual products and has a total weight including load of 49 tonnes. On the other hand, the second truck comes with a crane, purpose-fit to transport drill steel to underground drill rigs.
Charging the electric truck with the crane will be at the depot. Options of mobile charging at the sites will also be possible to increase flexibility. Lastly, vehicles are likely to start operations at LKAB in 2022.
Comments
“The electric trucks are part of an ambition to set a new standard for sustainable mining, where fossil-free is used all the way. We are shifting our fleet away from fossil diesel and as we are testing the capacity of BEV, decisions are taken with respect to the choice of trucks must not only contribute to higher productivity but, above all, also a more sustainable mine and a safer work environment,” says Peter Gustavsson, project manager at LKAB.
“We continue to work with customers that are willing to try innovative solutions together with us. For Scania it is very valuable to be able to test electric vehicles in the extreme environment in real customers operations in the mine. On top of that, the electric heavy tipper is the first of its kind in the industry and another really big step on the journey towards sustainable transport solutions across all applications,” says Fredrik Allard, Head of E-mobility, Scania.
