The collaboration between Hitachi Construction Machinery and the Traction division of ABB was born to create a fully electric dumper at the service of heavy-duty mining operations. Currently, this partnership has reached a crucial phase through the accomplishment of the prototype, already been subjected to the first tests in the factory. It was shipped on January 20th, 2024 to the copper and gold mine at Kansanshi, in Zambia, where the demo and final test phase will be executed at half 2024 at the latest.
The prototype development project started in 2021, with the target of satisfying the growing demand for electric dumpers in the mining sector and sharing in the reduction of greenhouse emissions. Using the innovative battery technology by ABB and DC/DC converters with high energy efficiency, Hitachi Construction Machinery dumpers have been transformed from diesel to fully electric. These dump trucks use a new onboard electric system that draws energy via a pantograph to power the motor directly and to charge a battery energy storage system. Moreover, while driving downhill, the regenerative braking system charges the battery itself, so decreasing the charge power when the truck is connected to the pantograph, allowing the truck to remain in constant operation without charge interruptions, maintaining high productivity, while a sophisticated system of energy and thermal management of the battery maximizes its duration.
Fabiana Cavalcante, Mobile e-Power Manager, ABB Traction, stated: «We are pleased to ascertain that our collaboration with Hitachi Construction Machinery has reached this crucial time. The project not only aids in facing the problems linked with the electrification of these trucks but it also shares in enabling a world with low carbon emissions through the reduction of greenhouse emissions. We cannot wait for the prototype to demonstrate its real capabilities in the copper and gold mine in Zambia».
