Miners are cutting CO2 emissions in half by switching to electric vehicles for extracting critical minerals
While you may notice more electric vehicles on the road today than ever before, the technology is now making its way to miners, the companies extracting the critical minerals needed to build EVs, ensure adequate global food supply, etc. A new contract to supply battery electric vehicles to the Jansen potash project (potentially the world’s largest potash mine) expects to slash carbon emissions in half compared to its peers. What if we could apply this technology to miners in the EV industry, creating a full circle sustainable supply chain?
BHP’s Jansen potash project is expected to be the largest of its kind, with initial capacity forecasts of 4.3 to 4.5 Mtpa.
Potash is often found in fertilizer and is a rich source of potassium, a mineral essential for our health. Since potassium is not produced by the body naturally, it must be consumed through food. Potash is the most commonly used potassium fertilizer, but over 70% is based on conventional underground mining that uses heavy-duty equipment to extract it.
Although underground mining can release half the CO2 emissions of open-pit mining, the company is taking it further by introducing several battery electric vehicles.
Normet Canada, the mining company behind the project, was awarded a new contract to use battery electric vehicles at the Jansen potash project, including 10 underground EV loaders and one electric tethered loader.
With these heavy-duty electric vehicles, BHP says the Jansen project is forecast to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% compared to the Saskatchewan potash mine.
The electric vehicle deliveries are expected to begin in March 2023 and run through 2024, which will work perfectly as the miners aim to start production in 2026.
Like potassium is critical for humans, electric vehicles also require certain minerals such as lithium and nickel. These miners are looking for ways to build on the momentum electric vehicles are establishing in reducing carbon emissions, completing a complete sustainability supply chain. Several companies are now working to make this a reality.
Miners using electric vehicles can complete the sustainability supply chain
Almost every automaker has set its intentions to scale production of its electric vehicles to meet the growing demand for zero-emission cars while setting carbon reduction targets.
For example, GM is going all-electric by 2035, Ford looks to produce 2 million EVs annually by 2026, and Volkswagen plans to be fully electric in Europe by 2035, while North America follows.
Tesla, only selling electric cars, continues breaking records with 343,000 EVs delivered in Q3 on its way to producing 20 million annually.
However, getting to these numbers will require mining. A few companies have already begun working to build a sustainable EV supply chain.
Snow Lake Lithium outlined its plans in February to develop the world’s first all-electric lithium mine, one of the most critical minerals used to build EV batteries. The mining company’s CEO said at the time if you are going to mine for these resources that will be used to protect the environment, then obtaining them must also be done in a sustainable matter.
The company is working with Meglab, an electrical equipment provider and mining solutions company, to make the dream a reality.
There are operations around the world working to reduce emissions in the mining sector. In July 2021, Opibus (now ROAM) converted a Toyota Land Cruiser fitted with an electric powertrain to use a mining vehicle.
Miners using electric vehicles can significantly reduce the heat and carbon exposure they typically experience with diesel-powered equipment. Furthermore, EV mining technology can cost less as it requires less ventilation and cooling.
The point is, as the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, companies are figuring out ways to build on the momentum EVs are establishing in reducing emissions. If miners get on board, it will come full circle, creating a complete sustainable EV supply chain.
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China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has unveiled its latest battery cell technologies, which charge as quickly as filling up a gas tank while potentially lowering costs without compromise.
CATL has quickly become the world’s largest battery manufacturer by a wide margin. It is one of, if not the biggest, force for advancing electric transportation.
A big part of CATL’s success is due to its advancements in lithium-iron phosphate battery cells, also known as LFP. LFP cells are cheaper than nickel-rich batteries, but they used to have much lower energy density.
The Chinese battery manufacturers managed to close the gap somewhat while maintaining lower costs, resulting in LFP cells becoming popular for entry-level EVs.
Now, CATL is looking to do the same with sodium-ion batteries.
Like LFP cells, sodium-ion battery cells have the potential to be cheaper than more common Li-ion cells, but they also offer potential for superior performance, particularly in terms of faster charging and longer lifecycles.
CATL has unveiled today Naxtra, its new sodium-ion battery cells, and it claimed some truly impressive specs.
The new cell reportedly achieves an energy density of 175 Wh per kg (385 Wh per lb), on par with the higher-end of LFP battery cells.
The new cells also offer potential for significant safety improvements.
CATL shared several intense stress tests, including drilling into a cell and even cutting it in half without any thermal event:
The next-gen sodium cells could help further lower the cost of electric vehicles without compromising performance, and while increasing safety.
On top of the new Naxtra cell, CATL has also unveiled its next-gen Shenxing LFP battery cells.
Its charge rate is truly impressive. CATL shared several examples of cars charging at around 1,000 kW and maintaining over 500 kW at over 50% state of charge:
The new cell is being described as capable of adding 300 miles (482 km) of range in about 5 minutes – depending on the EV model.
That’s virtually as quick as filling up a tank of gas.
CATL says that the Shenxing will be in 67 electric vehicle models by the end of the year.
The next-gen cell was unveiled after BYD, CATL’s biggest competitor, also unveiled its latest technology, capable of charging electric vehicles at extremely high speeds.
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New York State has announced an extra $30 million for point-of-sale rebates to lease or buy more than 60 new EV models.
The rebates are available to consumers through New York’s Drive Clean Rebate program, which offers a point-of-sale rebate off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of an EV at participating car dealerships in New York State.
The rebate is available in all 62 counties, with the highest rebate of $2,000 available for EVs with a greater-than-200-mile range. (For a 40- to 199-mile range, the rebate is $1,000.) The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) runs the program.
NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Converting to EVs reduces the total cost of vehicle ownership through lower fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, and NYSERDA is proud to help provide New Yorkers with more purchasing power through these rebates.”
The Drive Clean Rebate program has issued over 190,000 rebates to consumers since 2017, contributing to the more than 280,000 EVs on the road in New York State.
NYSERDA also boosted its EV charging incentives. Through the Charge Ready NY 2.0 program, the state is boosting the cash available for Level 2 charger installations at apartment buildings, workplaces, and hotels from $2,000 to $3,000 per port. And if the chargers go into disadvantaged communities, that amount jumps to $4,000 per port.
New York has racked up over 17,000 public EV chargers, making it second only to California for charger count. On top of that, there are more than 4,000 semi-public stations tucked into workplaces and multifamily buildings across the state.
Read more: New York awards $60M to Revel to install 267 DC fast chargers
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LTL carrier ArcBest Freight (ABF) announced plans to add five new Orange EV electric terminal tractors to its existing ZEV fleet, bringing its total deployment of these battery electric HDEVs to 14 … with even more to come.
LTL stands for “Less than Truck Load,” and basically means that, since whatever you’re shipping won’t take up a full container, you can share the costs of shipping with other customers with goods going the same way. You save a little more money and the shipper makes a little more money, making it a rare win-win scenario in the shipping space. And that’s important, because LTL containers amount to a massive 15% of total US shipping.
ABF has been putting Orange EV yard dogs to work in their LTL traffic terminals since their initial deployment of four trucks in June 2022. The company added five more a few years later, and just purchased five more — further underscoring their confidence in the benefits of transitioning their fleet to electric power.
“The Orange EV terminal trucks meet our operational requirements and expectations for safe, reliable, and affordable service and performance,” explains Matthew Godfrey, ABF Freight president. “We’re committed to responsible environmental management, and our investment in EVs aligns with our continuous efforts to enhance efficiency while maintaining exceptional service standards.”
ABF joins other large logistics companies like YMX and DHL in deploying the Orange EV terminal trucks, which have logged hundreds of thousands of hours of service for their customers.
Electrek’s Take
Over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, we had a chance to talk to Orange EV founder Kurt Neutgens ahead of last year’s ACT Expo for clean trucking. On the show (embedded, above), Kurt explained how his experience at Ford helped inform his design ideology, and that the Orange EV was designed to be cost competitive with diesel options, even without subsidies.
Give it a listen, then let us know what you think of the big yard dogs in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Orange EV; via PR Newswire.
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