Much of the discussion about electrification in mines is understandably about its role in addressing the urgent need to curb climate change. The latest electrically driven machines, however, are not only greener but significantly less expensive to operate than their diesel counterparts.

Bryce: Electrically powered hydraulic shovels are identical to their diesel counterparts. The only difference is they use electric motors instead of diesel engines to drive the hydraulics. There is no change in production capacity or operation, and the equipment can integrate easily into existing operations. It also makes it relatively easy to compare electric and diesel from a cost perspective. 

Approximately sixty percent of the operating cost of a diesel machine is fuel - that may be even higher with the current fuel prices -  so that difference adds up very quickly. Additionally, electric machines require less maintenance of the drive systems, which means less downtime. An electric motor has a design life to that of the machine, whereas a diesel engine will need a rebuild every 18,000 to 25,000 hours. So, there can be many diesel engine overhauls to the life of one electric motor.

Putting all that together, we see a cost per ton of an electric machine to be approximately 45% less than its diesel counterpart. So, an electric machine can typically pay for itself in two to three years.

Electric machines move at the same speed as the diesel counterpart, approximately 2.5 kph, so an attached cable doesn’t slow the machine’s travel performance. The mobility of the diesel could be argued against its cable dependant electric equivalent, but other benefits such as operating costs, environmental impact, productivity, and zero emissions can far be outweighed if the mine has the electrical infrastructure to support its operation. 

As we saw at Mine Expo, batteries and hydrogen fuel cells are also technologies we expect to see much more of in the future.  Other technologies on the horizon to see sites produce their own carbon-free electricity, will undoubtedly help push the interest of electric hydraulic shovels even higher. 

Hydrogen fuel cell power plants are a zero-emission alternative that many people are talking about, but so are wind and solar. Most are still early in the development cycle. However, Komatsu has formed the greenhouse gas (GHG) Alliance, in which some of our large customers participate, where partners exchange information on bringing these innovations to market more quickly.



Another possibility is small modular reactors (SMR)s - mini nuclear reactors that produce no emissions. I understand that the Alberta government recently announced they are working with developers on such a project.