In a world concerned about climate change, the fight to lower CO2 emissions has, quite literally, gone underground – and Freudenberg Battery Power Systems has helped to make this possible. After two years of demonstrations and testing, Freudenberg Battery Power Systems has established a successful partnership with Canadian-based MacLean, one of the world’s largest mining equipment manufacturer, to provide clean, battery-electric energy to power mobile equipment used in underground mines. It’s a breakthrough victory on multiple levels.
The Air is Pure Underground
Based in Canada, MacLean is one of the world’s largest suppliers of mining machinery. The company plans to run its mobile equipment in underground mines with battery-electric power. Rock breakers are one example of the products in MacLean’s series, which is powered by more cost-effective, lower-emission energy. The series also includes boom vehicles, explosives chargers, tunneling machines, cassette carriers, road graders, concrete vehicles and sprayers.
Freudenberg Battery Power Systems develops, produces, assembles and services advanced, heavy-duty battery systems for some of the world’s toughest industrial applications and underground mining is among the toughest, notes Mark Chema, Global Sales Director for the organization. Accessibility, ventilation, power supplies, unique performance requirements, worker safety and high investment costs have stymied attempts to introduce new powertrain technology underground in the past. But the Freudenberg-MacLean partnership will help the global mining industry achieve better results in all of these critical areas by providing mining companies with an entire portfolio of battery-electric mining vehicles to commission.
Two years of cooperation
“MacLean engineers approached us about our batteries because they are throttling up their knowledge, investment and growth in battery-electric mining equipment,” Chema said. “We began working directly with them two years ago, and after a successful demonstration of our battery systems, we are now supplying power to their EV Series™ equipment with our XMP76P battery sub-packs,” Chema said.
MacLean chose Freudenberg Battery Power Systems’ XMP76P battery sub-pack to provide safe, more cost-efficient, zero-emission muscle to its EV-Series rock breakers, boom trucks, explosive loaders, bolters, cassette carriers, road graders, concrete trucks and sprayers and other mining equipment, said Patrick Marshall, Vice President Product Management at MacLean. The XMP76P, part of Freudenberg’s XPAND Modular Pack portfolio, is powered by XALT Energy’s premium lithium-ion cell technology. MacLean will use several sub-packs in series to provide energy levels of more than 106 kWh per vehicle.
“We are really happy with the performance of the Freudenberg battery, the road map for the Freudenberg battery, the response and support we receive from the company’s technical sales and the fact that we now have a continental supplier chain for our electric vehicles,” Marshall noted. “We see huge growth potential with this partnership.”
Ores, minerals in demand
As concerns about climate change and increasing CO2 emissions drive much of the world to embrace battery-electric powertrains, the mining industry finds itself at a unique juncture, Marshall pointed out. Demand for the ores and minerals that support the development of emission-free, electric vehicles and machinery is increasing. However without a shift to carbon-neutral mining operations, the increased emissions from the extraction of these resources could potentially offset any environmental gains.
A healthier environment
MacLean launched its EV Series product line in 2016 and has been expanding the portfolio ever since. In 2021, MacLean added a heavy-duty, articulated shotcrete sprayer and a grader designed for the harsh realities of underground mining to its battery-electric offering. Importantly, the benefits of all of MacLean’s battery-powered vehicles go beyond environmental objectives. “Electric equipment is quieter, eliminates diesel particulates and creates a healthier, less stressful environment for operators. It generates huge savings by lowering the cost of underground ventilation systems,” Marshall said.
Recently, the mining equipment manufacturer’s decision to sell its EV-Series equipment in Australia insures that hard-rock, deep-mining practices Down Under will attain a new level of sustainability.
“We are proud to support MacLean Engineering’s EV-Series with a heavy-duty battery solution that meets the power requirements generated in a rugged, underground, mining environment,” said Nils Martens, Senior Vice President, Freudenberg Battery and Fuel Cell Systems. “The XMP76P checks all of the right boxes and is helping to make clean, safe, sustainable mining a reality.”
