EVMO Mining Electrification Resource Guide
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Background
Everyone in the industry engaged in electrification faces the same issues, and while many questions have been answered and learnings gained from the past decade or so of technology development and adoption, finding that information can be a real challenge. Much of the information is out there, on almost all the subjects of interest to the engineers, managers and researchers working in this space.
In researching the EVMO project, we found ourselves collecting a large library of resources from across the internet and the published literature. A mixture of news stories, magazine articles, journal papers, conference presentations, technical reports, webinars and more.
We decided to organize the collected resources into a curated “Mining Electrification Resource Guide”. This page describes each of the main sections in the Resource Guide and the context behind their inclusion.
The Electrification Resource Guide can help you on your own learning journey, use it to develop your own personal curriculum and start learning about the world of mining electrification!
Ch 01 - Mining Electrification Technologies
In this chapter of the Resource Guide, we have resources to introduce you to the major technological shifts driving electrification. From battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and renewable energy devices to in-pit crushing and conveying systems. The mix of resources should get you well acquainted with the “how” of mining electrification.
Ch 02 - BEV Deployment Strategies
BEVs are often considered by mining companies looking to electrify/decarbonize their operations because of the large proportion of emissions that come from the diesel used by mobile equipment fleets. There is also an opportunity for substantial cost savings from reducing diesel consumption, since diesel is often the largest single operating cost for fleets.
The resources in this chapter cover the development of a business case around BEVs, BEVs as part of a wider decarbonization strategy and the methods of analyzing BEV deployment using techno-economic analysis.
Ch 03 – BEV Deployment Preparation
Once you have established your BEV deployment strategy, you need to make sure your team are trained and prepared for the challenge. In this chapter we pull together resources relating to training the workforce needed to support electrification. We have webinars, reports and a list of courses aimed at different parts of the workforce.
Ch 04 – BEV Deployment Execution
The actual execution of BEVs into a mining operation can face many hurdles, from new/immature products to asset management practices that don’t fit BEVs well. Many mines have opted to doing trials and extensive testing of BEVs to help mitigate these issues and prepare themselves for wider scale adoption.
In this chapter, we document trials of various battery electric vehicles, from light duty trucks to LHDs and haul trucks. The field trials have investigated BEVs for their productivity and energy consumption performance. We also document some of the processes that can help make trials and wider adoption a success, like change management strategies and risk management approaches.
Pairing the learnings from documented trials with effective change and risk management processes can help you increase the odds of success with new BEV technology adoption.
Ch 05 – Electric Mine Design
Outside of the deployment process, BEVs introduce new infrastructure and design constraints for mining operations. This chapter looks at the design considerations for underground mines, surface mines, ventilation systems, charging systems and fire safety systems to accommodate BEVs and their charging infrastructure. The resources identified touch on design changes to the physical infrastructure and process design changes introduced by BEVs.
Ch 06 – Electrification Business Models
To make the high upfront cost of batteries/BEVs more palatable, new business practices have been adopted by equipment suppliers like Battery as a Service (BaaS). Businesses will also have to learn to manage batteries throughout their lifecycle, and the new risks that introduces to their operations.
For example, battery material passports can help with ensuring the provenance of batteries used in mining equipment is sustainable. Or companies managing batteries at their end-of-life need to ensure compliance with local regulations for hazardous waste disposal.
This chapter takes a wider view of the implications of batteries and BEVs, addressing new business models, the supply chain for BEV technology and how mining practices themselves could adapt to take full advantage of BEVs and renewable energy.
Ch 07 – Simulations & Data
Simulations of BEV operations provide good insight into the potential challenges and benefits of shifting production to these devices. This chapter collects drive-cycle simulations, production simulations and energy modelling of BEVs for both underground and surface mining loading/hauling applications.
Open data from mining BEVs and other electrification technologies is not generally available, however, this chapter highlights some useful datasets on electromobility technologies and the platforms where they can be found. Managing and analyzing the data produced by BEVs can be made more effective by using advanced data modelling techniques addressed here too.
Ch 08 – Policies & Regulations
Government policies impacting the use of diesel equipment underground offer a tailwind to BEV uptake. Policies related to DPM (diesel particulate matter) exposure in mining are addressed in this chapter. Other internal industry policies under development aim to respond to BEV adoption, such as charging interoperability and innovations driving cleaner, safer vehicles in mining.
Ch 09 – Case Studies
A great way to put this learning into context is to look at case studies for how companies have approached the challenges of BEV adoption. This chapter highlights work by early innovator mines, early adopter mines and greenfield projects. The chapter also identifies some projects of interest for the scale of the challenges they seek to overcome.
Ch 10 – Media & Events
While almost all the resources identified up to now have been written content, either articles, papers or technical reports, there are some other key resources for people in the industry looking to learn about electrification. Webinars are a great self-paced learning resource and, for those able to attend in-person, there are focused industry conferences and events that cover mining electrification.
Ch 11 – Groups & Projects
Wrapping up the resource guide, we want to highlight some of the groups and research projects that are driving forward our collective understanding of the mining electrification field. There are research projects pushing the technology forward across Europe, North America, South America and Australia.
If you have any resources you’d like to see added to the guide feel free to email info@zero.nexus with suggestions.