Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2024 - 22

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT
Komatsu's 150-kW battery charger can be
moved and deployed using standard equipment.
It takes less than five minutes to
swap a battery, he said.
" Hard rock underground mining is
adopting [battery-electric] at a wild
pace because of the economics of the
cost of air circulation - this actually
saves them money, " Zimmerman
shared. " I don't know if that kind of
financial upside is that strong in other
industries. I know it is here, this is a
no-brainer. "
The economics are even better for
greenfield mines that are designed
solely around battery-electric equipment,
he added. " There are a couple of
mines that I know of that have been
seeing like 50% savings in operation
costs. That pays for it [even though] it's
more expensive than diesel. "
Payback in that " perfect environment "
of a greenfield mine can be two to three
years, he said. " It's really compelling. "
Vehicle-agnostic battery charger
Complementing the WX04B is
Komatsu's vehicle-agnostic 150-kW
battery charger that has been engineered
specifically for underground
hard rock mining. The charger can be
used with " almost any " battery-powered
mining equipment that has a
CCS2 connector, Zimmerman said. Its
compact, rugged design allows the
charger to be moved and deployed
using standard equipment.
Key features include power efficiency,
broad compatibility with mining
power sources (400 VAC to 1000 VAC)
A battery swap can be executed in
less than five minutes. The battery
recharges in approximately two hours.
and no need for an external transformer.
A fully sealed enclosure eliminates
the need for ventilation or liquid cooling.
The design minimizes infrastructure
requirements, offering mining operations
greater flexibility without the
need for a dedicated charging station,
Zimmerman said.
" With the charging system, pick it up
with a forklift, drop it off, it plugs into
mine power, so the same electrical outlets
that you would use to run a jumbo
drill, or a face drill, " he explained. " And
again, it can sit in the dirt. You can almost
turn a little side drift in an underground
mine into a charging station
with no changes. "
The battery recharges in approxiThe
battery swap system and charger reportedly have no impact on a mine's infrastructure.
22 December 2024
mately two hours, which allows for
better scheduling and reduced downtime
on a vehicle that gets four hours
of operating time. " Our plan when
we're looking at our forecasts is two
batteries per machine, " Zimmerman
said. " Until you get into a larger fleet
situation, then you're not going to
have two exactly. "
The combination of the WX04B and
the 150-kW charger highlights Komatsu's
efforts to offer a complete, scalable solution
for the underground hard rock market.
" These combined are an important
benchmark for us in our journey to electrification
underground, " Fox said.
Ryan Gehm
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SAE/RYAN GEHM; KOMATSU; KOMATSU
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2024

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