Giants under power

Standing in front of Liebherr’s gigantic T 284 dump truck makes you feel tiny. This giant is eight metres high and can transport an impressive up to 375 tonnes of material. In Panama, the mining company First Quantum Minerals has as many as 38 of them in use. Here’s the twist: these ultra-class giants are literally connected to the electrical network. With the help of Liebherr’s innovative Trolley Assist System, they can drive without using diesel under certain conditions. The Trolley Assist System uses onboard pantographs to connect the trucks’ drive system to overhead power lines on uphill haulage segments. These overhead lines stretch across the ramps between the digging and dumping zones. This not only saves fuel and reduces CO₂ emissions – the electric drive also increases productivity and thus the operating result.

The Liebherr Trolley Assist System is already in use in several mines around the world and the results are impressive. The example of the T 284 mining trucks shows that the loaded trucks go uphill at 25 kilometres per hour thanks to electrification which is almost two times faster than the standard version. Above all, the main goal of the Trolley Assist System is convincingly achieved: fuel consumption on the trolley segment can be decreased by up to 90 per cent. “Currently direct electrification offers the greatest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It can also be achieved the fastest. For this reason, we have focused on the grid electrification of our entire range of dump trucks and excavators,” explains Oliver Weiss, executive vice president R&D of Liebherr-Mining Equipment SAS.

Fortescue Metals Group, a globally active mining company, recently announced a partnership with Liebherr. This partnership will see Liebherr integrate the zero emission drive systems developed by Fortescue Future Industries and Williams Advanced Engineering into the T 264 mining truck. After a two-year joint development period, the climate-friendly giants will be ready for series production and delivery. Fortescue also sees the partnership as an important basis for achieving net zero emissions in its own company by 2030.

Oliver Weiss explains: “This project provides us with an excellent opportunity to accelerate the integration of alternative drive systems into our mining machines powered by cleanenergy. This supports our vision and strategy to offer zero emission machines with the most suitable drive technologies in the future. Along the way, we will support our customers in choosing the technology options from our wide range of products that are most suitable to them.”

One of these technology options includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by running combustion engines on renewable fuels. Thus, the drive with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is now also available for most of Liebherr Mining’s machines. Liebherr is working on the modularity of its large combustion engines for alternative fuels. Hydrogen, ammonia and methanol combustion processes are under development and will only be offered in series production depending on market demand.

Liebherr is also working on further climate-friendly developments for the mining industry with strategic partnerships. The cooperation with ENGIE is intended to improve the understanding of the entire energy value chain (well to wheel) of green hydrogen and the derivative fuels based on it in order to propose customers the best suited solution for their application to be able to advise customers about infrastructure requirements to set up Trolley systems, Liebherr is also working together with different Trolley infrastructure providers.