Caterpillar, the world\u2019s largest manufacturer of construction equipment, has built its first battery-electric large mining truck \u2014 and select customers got to see the massive EV demonstrated at the \u201cmine site of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This demonstration is a significant milestone, and we are excited for these trucks to get to work at customers’ sites around the world in the near future,\u201d said<\/a> Denise Johnson, group president of resource industries at Caterpillar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenge:<\/strong> Caterpillar has sold more than 6,000<\/a> of its \u201c793\u201d mining trucks for good reason: the vehicle is an absolute beast, capable of hauling a 252-ton payload \u2014 that\u2019s more than the combined weight of 120 average-sized cars<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 793 is also diesel-powered, though, meaning that all that hauling power comes at the expense of carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Decarbonizing hauling trucks is \u201cone of the most critical actions to take\u201d to clean up the mining industry.<\/p>McKinsey and Company<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The idea:<\/strong> In 2021, Caterpillar launched the Early Learners program to accelerate the development and validation of electric trucks at its customers\u2019 own sites \u2014 this gives Caterpillar a chance to work closely with those customers as the construction industry begins to transition to EVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the help of mining companies in the Early Learners program, Caterpillar developed a battery-electric prototype of the 793, which it recently demonstrated to Early Learner customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this demo, the electric mining truck navigated a 4.3-mile-long course. While fully loaded, it reached a top speed of 37.3 mph, and when tasked with driving up a 1-kilometer stretch with a 10% grade, it reached 7.5 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n