GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Caterpillar Inc. is ushering in a new era of mining equipment with its first all-electric mining truck.
Consumer vehicles aren’t the only things going electric. The construction and mining equipment company showed off its all-electric 793 mining truck, something the President of Resource Industries at Caterpillar, Denise Johnson, said is the result of their customers going green.
"Our customers came to us and asked 'what solutions can you develop for us that help us become more sustainable?'," she said. "Because they’ve made commitments to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from their mine sites."
The massive truck is 240 tons, with the ability to build a 400-ton 794 version. Johnson said it was developed in less than a year and first demonstrated in November 2022 in Texas.
"It’s completely battery-electric. It has zero greenhouse gas emissions," Johnson said. "It’s the first of its kind in the industry."
Johnson said the company will begin sending its prototypes to seven mining companies around the world for its early learning phase in 2024.
"We’re going to learn with the mining company how these machines interact around the site," said Johnson. "What it takes to charge them, recharge them, to actually have them move across the infrastructure."
Fleets will be sent out by 2025 to continue with the initial phase. According to Johnson, the full-scale production of its electric mining truck is set to begin in 2027.
Diesel-powered mining trucks consume roughly 35 gallons of diesel per hour, further highlighting the need for EV alternatives such as the 793 mining truck.
"It’s a transition that people have to take a leap of faith to be able to get to. So we have to demonstrate it can be done before the market really opens up and gets developed," Johnson said.
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
