The green transformation of the mining industry is accelerating.
Recently, CATL and BYD’s Fudi Battery announced on the same day that they would cooperate with global mining giant BHP Billiton on the electrification of mining equipment and supporting infrastructure.
As the green transformation of the global mining industry deepens, Chinese lithium battery companies are expected to expand from “battery suppliers” to “mining green power solution providers” by leveraging their advantages in technology, cost, and industrial chain coordination, and occupy a more critical position in the global energy transformation wave.
Driven by the global goal of green transformation of mines, the green transformation of mines has become an inevitable trend in the development of the mining industry.
Many mining companies are actively promoting the transformation process by applying clean energy technologies, adopting energy-saving process equipment, developing carbon sink and carbon capture technologies, and building digital intelligence management platforms.
As a global mining giant with business covering copper, iron ore, coal, nickel, potash and other fields, BHP Billiton has been committed to leading the industry’s low-carbon transformation in recent years and has proposed the goal of achieving net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases from the group’s operations by 2050.
Driven by this goal, BHP Billiton has recently reached cooperation with CATL and BYD’s Fudi Battery to jointly focus on the electrification transformation of mines.
It is reported that CATL and BHP Billiton will cooperate in product research and development, jointly develop battery solutions suitable for heavy mining equipment and railway locomotives, and support the implementation of corresponding fast charging infrastructure to explore the application scenarios of energy storage systems in BHP Billiton’s global mines.
The two parties will also optimize the battery recycling process, promote the development of circular economy, and establish a more sustainable mining industry value chain.
The cooperation between Fudi Battery and BHP Billiton also focuses on the electrification transformation of mines.
The two parties will work together to develop power battery system solutions and supporting flash charging infrastructure suitable for heavy mining equipment and locomotives.
In addition, the two parties will also explore the use of BYD commercial vehicles and light vehicles in BHP Billiton’s mines to promote the diesel replacement technology required for BHP Billiton’s mine transportation.
As for the significance of the above-mentioned cooperation, some experts pointed out that on the one hand, in the past, trucks and other equipment in mines mostly used diesel as fuel, causing serious pollution to the environment. However, after transforming into green electric equipment, carbon emissions can be effectively reduced.
On the other hand, for companies such as Fudi Battery and CATL, mining companies will undoubtedly become their important customers in order to adapt to the development of energy transformation.
The integration of “battery technology + mining scenarios” not only provides technical support and practical paths for the green transformation of the mining industry, but also creates a new model of cross-industry collaboration.
Promoting the use of electric or hydrogen mining equipment is one of the effective methods for the current green transformation, energy conservation and emission reduction of mines.
Mining vehicles usually have short driving distances and relatively fixed routes. This scenario characteristic makes them one of the ideal choices for electric vehicle applications.
Data shows that in open-pit mines, the diesel consumed by trucks can account for 30% – 50% of emissions, and the application of electric mining trucks can significantly improve the emission reduction effect of mines.
It is reported that the 100 pure electric driverless mining trucks delivered by XCMG to Huaneng Yimin Open-pit Coal Mine can replace more than 15,000 tons of diesel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 48,000 tons every year.
However, new energy engineering machinery, cranes and new energy mining trucks are still in the initial stage of development.
In the past few years, the high initial purchase cost was a major factor restricting its promotion and application.
However, in recent years, with the strengthening of relevant policy support and the continuous improvement of supporting charging and swapping facilities, the full life cycle cost of such equipment has dropped rapidly.
Taking electric heavy trucks as an example, their cost advantages have gradually become apparent in recent years.
A CITIC Securities research report pointed out that according to calculations, the full life cycle cost advantage of pure electric heavy trucks over traditional diesel heavy trucks in 2024 can reach 500,000-1 million yuan, while in 2022 this cost advantage will be less than 200,000 yuan.
Decreasing battery costs and improving fast charging technology are the main factors that give pure electric heavy trucks more cost advantages.
The “Electric Vehicles in the Mining Industry 2024-2044: Technologies, Players and Forecasts” released by IDTechEx, a technology and market research company, predicts that the electric mining vehicle market will soar to more than 23 billion US dollars by 2044, with a compound annual growth rate of 32% in 20 years. By then, nearly 50% of mining vehicle sales will be electric vehicles.
A research report from Soochow Securities pointed out that due to the high carbon emission requirements of mining scenarios, the availability of charging conditions, and the high similarity between mining truck technology and passenger cars, mining trucks may become the next popular electrified product.
Looking to the future, as domestic battery and electric drive technologies continue to make breakthroughs, electric construction machinery is expected to become the core tool for domestic construction machinery OEMs to achieve lane changes and overtake of overseas leaders.
With the green transformation process of global mines, my country’s lithium battery companies have ushered in broad development opportunities.
The huge demand for high-performance power batteries from the electrification of mining equipment is driving the trend of electrification of mines to become an important market growth point for lithium battery companies.
From the perspective of market prospects, the market share of new energy mining cards is expected to experience explosive growth in the next few years, and the market demand potential for its core battery system is particularly huge.
The Lithium Battery Research Institute of Gaogong Industrial Research pointed out that the sales volume of new energy mining cards will increase by more than 70% in 2024, and the penetration rate will exceed 13%.
Battery technology for mining trucks is difficult, and excellent power solutions can create a significant demonstration effect in the industry.
Facing opportunities, domestic lithium battery companies have actively deployed.
In May this year, Yiwei Lithium Energy released 8 open source battery products to meet the needs of all-scenario working conditions from micro-surface logistics vehicles, light trucks to heavy trucks, trunk lines to buses and construction machinery; in November 2024, CATL announced the launch of the Tianxing heavy-duty commercial vehicle series
Batteries, among which the high-intensity version is specially designed for construction machinery under extreme working conditions, such as mining trucks; Fudi Battery released three construction machinery batteries in November last year, among which the integrated version has an integration level of 320WH/L and is suitable for a variety of excavation, loading and transportation scenarios.
“With the continuous advancement of technology and continued policy support, the cost of new energy mining equipment is expected to be reduced, the service life will be gradually extended, and it will play an increasingly important role in the green transformation of mines in the future.” Some experts believe.
