- China's Huaneng Group has deployed the world's first fleet of driverless mining trucks.
- 100 trucks can autonomously load and unload coal.
- The project kicked off at the Huaneng Yimin open-pit mine in Inner Mongolia.
China's mining industry has slapped the proverbial glove in the face of Western mining companies by deploying what it calls the world’s first fleet of unmanned electric mining trucks. No fewer than 100 driverless battery-powered trucks are already roaming Inner Mongolia’s Yimin open-pit mine, saving thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise be blasted into the air by conventional diesel trucks.
That said, it’s worth noting that the trucks are carrying coal, which isn’t exactly environmentally friendly. But it’s China’s main energy source, so it plays a major role in the country’s stability.
The truck in question is the XCMG ZNK95 (catchy name, yes), which can carry up to 85 metric tons and has a battery capacity of 509 kilowatt-hours. It has been designed from the ground up as an autonomous truck that packs a millimeter wave radar, visual computing capabilities, and, of course, artificial intelligence. It can work at temperatures as low as -40 degrees and was designed to autonomously load and unload mining material.
As for charging such a massive pack, the hassle has been taken out of the equation because it can simply be swapped on site. Get the empty battery out and put a fully charged one in place–this way, the truck is back on the road quickly, and the empty pack can be charged without a rush. Plus, the power for charging the trucks comes from the sun.
"The power for our pure electric unmanned mining trucks is entirely sourced from photovoltaic green energy,” said Shu Yingqiu, director of the Huaneng Yimin open-pit mine, for China Daily. “Each truck's comprehensive transport efficiency reaches 120 percent of manual operations, operates continuously in extreme cold as low as -40° C and meets demanding conditions such as high vibration and impact during operation."
Electric trucks are set to be the next big thing in the industry, with battery giant CATL saying sales could explode to half of the whole market by 2028. It’s no wonder, then, that China is charging ahead in this space, after leaving the automotive industry in the dust.
At the Yimin mine, telecom giant and EV-making newcomer Huawei deployed a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) network so the trucks can communicate with each other and the server room. The mobile network has a 500 Mbps uplink and a 20-millisecond latency, which is said to be enough for a high-definition video backhaul and cloud-based dispatching. Moreover, Huawei provided the AI algorithms for open-pit mining.
Compared to traditional human-driven trucks, the ZNK95 is capable of improving the overall transport efficiency by 20%, which would lead to some serious cost savings in the long run. The 100-strong fleet of driverless electric trucks is the work of Huaneng Group, a Chinese state-backed energy giant.
