What happens when you deploy 100 massive, driverless, and fully electric heavy haul trucks at a working mine? After nearly a year of continuous operation, one mining company is already finding out. Here’s how their great experiment is going.
With driverless AI powered by tech giant Huawei 5G-Advanced network, the 100 Huaneng Ruichi all-electric heavy haul trucks were deployed at Yimin’s open-pit coal mine in Inner Mongolia last May. Since then, they’ve logged thousands of hours and moved millions of tons of material in what’s being call a breakthrough in safety and productivity for the industry.
“The Huaneng Ruichi trucks have set three new records for autonomous electric mining trucks,” explains Li Shuxue, chairman of Huaneng Inner Mongolia Eastern Energy. “[Including] the world’s largest payload, fastest running speed, and lowest operating temperature.”
Yimin’s autonomous mine project aligns with a broader push by the Chinese government and mining industries to integrate AI and advanced connectivity into traditional operations – an approach we’ve already seen meet with great success in port environments by Hesai and Westwell.
Autonomous EVs that work
The first of the 100 battery electric haul trucks arrived at the Yimin mine way back in 2024, and were already operating at 120% of the benchmark set by their human-driven, diesel-powered competitors. As the systems and processes were refined and the autonomous battery swap kinks were ironed out, the system got better.
“After four years of joint effort since then, we developed a fully autonomous battery-swapping and station monitoring system for pure electric mining trucks,” says Yimin senior advisor, Tang Wensheng. “Up to 100 autonomous mining trucks can automatically have their batteries swapped, with each swap taking just 5-odd minutes, at an operational success rate of over 98%.”
That uptime, combined with lower maintenance and rebuild time and no driver swap delays at shift changes, has dramatically boosted efficiency. “The site used to require around 300 trucks, operated by 1,200 drivers, to run 24/7,” writes mine‘s Eve Thomas, “but a notable recent shift in driver safety has been instrumental in spearheading change.”
Each Huaneng Ruichi truck runs on a swappable, 568 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery and can haul up to 90 tons, with electric motors powerful enough to rival modern ultra‑class haul trucks that often exceed 3,000 hp.
Electrek’s Take
Look, anything that gets me closer to a real life Devastator is going to get rave reviews from me, but mine‘s Eve Thomas is a more nuanced, intelligent type of person who is quick to point out that, while electrification reduces on-site diesel consumption, reduces carbon emissions, and and improves operator safety, the mine itself is still extracting coal, begging the question: if AI and digital infrastructure make coal extraction safer and more economical, does that accelerate decarbonisation or delay it?
While I like to think I’m smart enough to point out that coal-fired plants sending energy to batteries in EVs are cleaner and more efficient than diesel engines in vehicles, I know I’m not smart enough to speak to the broader question she asks.
You guys? You guys are smart, and Electrek has some of the best commenters in the business. Check out her original article, then let us know what you think in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Huawei, mine.
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