Rio Tinto to trial Chinese battery swapping technology at Oyu Tolgoi
Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is teaming up with China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) to test the use of battery swap electric haul truck technology at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.
Battery swapping allows an electric vehicle to quickly exchange a discharged battery pack for a fully charged one, instead of recharging the vehicle at a static charging station.
The technology is already applied on haul trucks in mining operations across China, and this collaboration will enable Rio Tinto to demonstrate a complete battery electric truck and charging ecosystem at one of its operations.
The project will run for two years, comprising eight mining haul trucks (91-tonne payload), 13 batteries (800kWh), and a robotic battery swap and charging station in non-production activities in the aboveground operations at Oyu Tolgoi.
Technical experts from Rio Tinto and Oyu Tolgoi have worked closely with SPIC and truck manufacturer Tonly to adjust equipment design to align with Rio’s electrical and truck safety requirements. The trucks will perform tailings dam rehabilitation work and topsoil movement and be operated and maintained by Oyu Tolgoi personnel.
Each battery is expected to last up to eight hours, depending on the work performed, and the battery swap process takes around seven minutes, enabling increased use of the equipment through minimal charging downtime.
The first truck is ready to arrive at Oyu Tolgoi this year and the remaining seven trucks, along with the battery swap and charging infrastructure, will be in operation by mid-2025.
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