Mine operators must improve safety, environmental and financial aspects while tackling mining that is often more remote, dangerous and hot making staffing more problematical. The new IDTechEx report, "Electric Vehicles and Robotics for Mining 2020-2030" shows how electric vehicles and increasingly unmanned mines tick the boxes in addressing all these challenges from sea floor to mountain, deep mine and open pit work.

 

The report provides uniquely up-to-date, penetrating analysis and forecasts of the technology and markets globally. It is for all in the mining vehicle value chain from investors, researchers and materials suppliers to vehicle and component manufacturers, operators, system integrators, mining operators and legislators. Many mining vehicles are among the most power-hungry EVs, yet they are located where pressure for zero-emission local electricity supply is strengthening. It is therefore futile to analyse mining electrification without addressing where that zero-emission electricity will come from, so we do that too - zero emission microgrids.

 

This 292 page report has an Executive Summary and Conclusions sufficient in itself because it gives ten year forecasts in five categories, six key market drivers in detail and infograms of the mines of the future and the many new challenges. See 20 key conclusions grouped by industry, regional and technological. Mining capex and trend is clarified by a new infogram. Development timeline, patent trend and progress to price parity with diesel by vehicle type are graphed. The Introduction then scopes mining basics, leading miners and new challenges, threats and incentives, the mining equipment market and what is and is not an electric vehicle. Here are powertrain options emerging, huge scope for vehicle simplification, emissions data and targets, the future types of mine and progress to electrification and unmanned mines - all in some detail with many latest examples and summary charts.

 

Chapter 3 brings it to life with profiles and products in "Mining BEV Appraisal: 23 Manufacturers". That includes SOFT reports on leaders, executive responses and latest products. At the halfway point in the report, Chapter 4 introduces six key enabling technologies and their future for mining electric vehicles, pure electric and hybrid. For each, the ten-year roadmap is in focus. See electric motor options that work inversely as generators and transform mechanical energy into electric energy, both for hybrid and full electric, with mining examples. Compared to diesel, electric traction is more even, controllable, faster responding and stronger from start. Motors are key to achieving long range/ endurance and best performance. Traction battery systems are covered including battery charging and swapping. Understand supercapacitors for energy recovery and storage. Their high-power capabilities can recover up to 80% of the kinetic energy of the energy as opposed to 30% in batteries when braking the vehicle and its swinging, digging and lifting tools. Next comes Power Electronics - its uses and why it will sometimes overtake batteries as the largest percentage of powertrain cost and capability. Solar bodywork is examined as it comes to surface mining in the form of expanding solar panels on trucks and more. Zero-emission transportable microgrids for charging the vehicles are introduced but due to their new importance, there follows a whole Chapter 5 "Energy Independent, Zero Emission Mines", including the new transportable, lower-intermittency options of open-sea wave and tidal power, river power and airborne wind energy to supplement or replace today's battery solar and wind turbines. A seventh key technology - Autonomy - is important enough to have a Chapter 6 and 7. Chapter 6 is Autonomous and Remotely Operated Mining Vehicles in Action and Chapter 7 is Autonomy Components and Integration so the report "Electric Vehicles and Robotics for Mining 2020-2030" gives the full picture. Nothing else comes close because it is based on PhD level, multi-lingual IDTechEx analysts travelling intensively and studying the subject for decades.