Finalization of Caterpillar’s Battery-Electric Dump Truck and, US-Mexico Collaboration on Semiconductors & Electric Vehicles

Caterpillar has Finalized the Development of Large Battery-Electric 793 Dump Truck

Market Impact Factor: High

Abdul Haseeb | Junior Analyst – E-mobility

The construction and mining equipment manufacturing giant has completed the ready-to-go prototype of its large battery-electric 793 mining truck. This e-truck prototype was built at Caterpillar’s Tucson Proving Ground in Green Valley, Arizona. The development of the truck has been carried out with support from key mining customers participating in Caterpillar’s Early Learner program. The Early Learner Program was launched back in 2021 aiming to validate the battery electric trucks and accelerate their development. The participants of this program with definitive electrification agreements are BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, Greenwood Village, Rio Tinto, and Teck Resources Ltd. Following the program, Caterpillar supports the individual commitments each Early Learner participant has made to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from their operations.

The 793 Dump truck was tested in a variety of circumstances, including a 10% incline over one kilometer at 12 km/h, as well as a downward slope to demonstrate recuperation. The 793 could still reach a top speed of 60 km/h with a load up to the nominal capacity. Although Caterpillar has not revealed the exact technical data the nearest 793 F model with an 85-liter combustion engine has a rated payload of 231 tons.

However, this electric 793 is not Caterpillar’s first heavy-duty dump truck with an electric drive. Caterpillar has signed an agreement with Mining group BHP to electrify BHP’s entire truck fleet at the Escondida copper mine in Chile. The first Caterpillar 798 AC electric dump trucks are to be expected to be delivered in the second half of 2023.

The agreement is part of the strategic equipment renewal process developed by Escondida. BHP’s fleet currently consists of more than 160 dump trucks, and over the next decade, Caterpillar has planned to replace them with electric vehicles.

Also involved in the venture is Finning International, which is based in Vancouver, Canada, and sells and services Caterpillar products. The company’s integrated knowledge center in the Chilean region of Antofagasta, for example, is to provide technical support for the fleet.

Apart from Caterpillar, BHP has recently ordered eleven electric vehicles from Sandvik for its Jansen potash mine in Canada. BHP is also reportedly a founding member of the Komatsu Greenhouse Gas Alliance to develop electric mining equipment. Like Caterpillar, BHP is also aiming to achieve a company-wide target to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions that lie under Scope 1 & 2 by at least 30% by FY2030 (relative to 2020 levels) the net zero GHG emissions by 2050 and in the long-term BHP aims to achieve longer-term, net-zero operational emissions by 2050.

Although the mining sector lags in the electrification of heavy equipment with time more companies such as BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, Greenwood Village, Rio Tinto, and Teck Resources Ltd are also focusing on electrifying their mining equipment and are investing in efficiency investing in the R&D and development of this equipment to achieve their GHG emission targets.

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US, Mexico Plan to Cooperate on Semiconductors, Electric Vehicles

Market Impact Factor: High

Amna Mumtaz?| Junior Analyst – E-mobility

Mexico was invited to take part in a push to move semiconductor manufacturing from Asia to North America and increase the production of electric vehicles in a high-level US delegation. Mexico can take benefit from newly passed U.S. legislation that offers $28 billion in incentives for semiconductor production, $10 billion for new chip manufacturing, and $11 billion for R&D. The Biden administration’s significant investment in semiconductor manufacturing will be used by Mexico and the US to advance supply chain integration and work together to increase the production of electric vehicles through Mexico’s nationalized lithium industry.

A crucial part of the batteries used in electric vehicles is lithium. The state-run lithium firm was established by the Mexican government to handle the mineral’s discovery and extraction. Major components of the supply chains for semiconductors are already well established in Mexico, where U.S-based companies like Intel and Skyworks carry out research and development, design, assembly, and test manufacturing.

The economy of Mexico will benefit greatly from this venture. Another new U.S. legislation intends to encourage the shift to electric vehicles and the manufacturing of the batteries they require in the continent. The manufacturing of vehicles has been affected due to the global shortage of semiconductors and supply chains, which has led to high inflation and made the partnership between the two countries a significant market step.??????????

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Shore Power for More States in the US?

Market Impact Factor: Medium

Mustafa Mirza | Junior Analyst - New Energy

The Port of Galveston together with Shell Trading, Carnival Corporation, CenterPoint Energy, Royal Caribbean Group, and Texas A&M University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work towards potential solutions to develop environmentally beneficial shore power at the Port of Galveston. The port is looking to install a shore power system for cruise vessels that dock at the port. It is understandable because the port is a busy cruise destination located on the Gulf of Mexico handling about a million passengers every year. Shell and CenterPoint Energy will provide their expertise in grid enhancements, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group are the intended users of the technology and Texas A&M will do the technical feasibility study for the port.

Royal Caribbean Group has announced it will retrofit its cruise vessel “Allure of the Seas” for the use of shore power when it becomes available at the new Galveston Cruise Terminal and the ship will homeport at the terminal justifying the business case for the installation. Moreover, Carnival Corporation is also planning to homeport their latest ship “Carnival Jubilee” at Galveston when it is commissioned in 2023. It will run on LNG and will be equipped to use shore power at Galveston.

Shore Power in the US has mainly been concentrated on the west coast, particularly in California and Washington. This recent development is a sign of encouragement that the shore power market is now set to expand elsewhere in the country as individual states race to meet their carbon neutrality targets and make use of the funding and grants made available by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Texas A&M University is also studying the potential for plugging cargo vessels to shore power at the Port of Galveston in the future.

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