Caterpillar shows off its first-ever underground electric mining truck
This week, Caterpillar successfully demonstrated a prototype of an all-new battery electric underground mining truck at its Australian proving grounds, making it the latest addition to a rapidly-growing portfolio of battery electric and semi-autonomous mining machines.
Cat has been on something of a roll lately, announcing new OEM-level collaborations and showing off more additions to its electric equipment ecosystem almost continuously since the launch of its 793 above-ground electric mining truck in Arizona back in 2022.
This latest announcement, however, highlights the company’s first-ever underground electric mining truck. Visually similar to the existing AD45 articulated hauler (shown, below), the prototype electric mining truck was developed with customer input and support from the gold mining experts at Newmont Corporation, and aims to help Newmont achieve its vision of a fully connected, automated, zero carbon mining system.
Cat AD45 underground hauler
“This milestone is a reflection of the partnership between our teams at Newmont and Caterpillar, showcasing the impact of strong collaboration in the mining industry,” said Rob Atkinson, Executive Vice President at Newmont. “Achieving this milestone together, combining capabilities and shared values, is a testament to the strength of our strategic alliance.”
The upcoming battery electric truck represents the second half of Caterpillar’s first fully electric underground load and haul solution, the first half being the R1700 XE battery electric loader, which was took center stage at this year’s CES show and is currently available for order. In addition to emissions-free operation, the company also showed off its growing autonomy and automation capabilities, which address some of the biggest safety concerns faced by mining customers – all associated with the task of repetitively moving massive machinery through dark, cramped, and loud underground spaces.
“This is a milestone for the entire Caterpillar team as we work closer than ever with Newmont to provide more sustainable choices for the underground mining industry,” said Denise Johnson, Caterpillar’s Resource Industries Group President. “We are building on our foundation of industry-leading autonomous solutions for surface operations, along with our deep experience in underground technology, to provide significant improvement in both productivity and safety for underground mining customers.”
Electrek’s Take
You can count me (Jo) among the of people who don’t believe on-road full self driving is going to be a thing anytime soon. That said, a mine is very different from Main Street, and an autonomous agent that doesn’t get tired towards the end of a shift, that doesn’t get complacent from tracing the same route a dozen or more times a day, and that can see in the dark could dramatically improve working conditions underground – and that I am all for.
Source | Featured Image: Caterpillar, via Equipment Journal.
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China just laid out a plan to roll out over 100,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations by 2027 – and they’ll all be open to the public.
The National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) joint notice, issued on Monday, asks local authorities to put together construction plans for highway service areas and prioritize the ones that see 40% or more usage during holiday travel rushes.
The NDRC notes that China’s ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure needs upgrading as more 800V EVs hit the road. Those high-voltage platforms can handle super-fast charging in as little as 10 to 30 minutes, but only if the charging hardware is up to speed.
China had 31.4 million EVs on the road at the end of 2024 – nearly 9% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. But charging access is still catching up. As of May 2025, there were 14.4 million charging points, or roughly 1 for every 2.2 EVs.
To keep the grid running smoothly, China wants new chargers to be smart, with dynamic pricing to incentivize off-peak charging and solar and storage to power the charging stations.
To make the business side work, the government is pushing for 10-year leases for charging station operators, and it’s backing the buildout with local government bonds.
The NDRC emphasized that the DC fast chargers built will be open to the public. This is a big deal because a lot of fast chargers in China aren’t. For example, BYD’s new megawatt chargers aren’t open to third-party vehicles.
As of September 2024, China had expanded its charging infrastructure to 11.4 million EV chargers, but only 3.3 million were public.
Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles
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Tesla is starting to experience some consequences for misleading Full Self Driving customers – at least that’s the finding of one arbitration ruling that has Tesla refunding one customer $10,000 plus legal fees for failing to deliver on their promises. Find out more on today’s legally challenging episode of Quick Charge!
An arbitration “court” found that Tesla misled customers with its Full Self Driving product, and has now been forced to refund at least one person’s $10,000 payment (plus legal fees) for the not-quite autonomous driving software. France, too, is piling on claims of deceptive business practices – but there’s some good news for FSD fans! If you’re still willing to pay for it, Tesla will thrown in 0% financing on a brand new Cybertruck.
Check out the relevant links, below, to learn more.
Source Links
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