The First All-Electric Mining Dump Truck

The partnership between Hitachi and ABB Traction to build a massive, fully electric dump truck—the world’s first all-electric mining dump truck—has reached a key milestone with the completion of their first prototype.

Hitachi’s fleet electrification plan, consisting of 2,500-hp EH 4000 diesel mining trucks with a 244-ton payload, was initially announced in 2021. ABB approached the project from an unconventional perspective: the focus was not simply on completing the work, but on managing the energy required to do it. To this end, engineers at ABB and Hitachi envisioned an overhead “trolley-like” power connection (illustrated in the accompanying image) to assist heavy dump trucks in ascending and descending mines, while using the trucks’ own mass to recover energy via the retarder during downhill movement.

This hybrid solution, combining trolley-supplied electricity and gravitational energy, is designed to allow electric dump trucks to operate without massive battery packs or megawatt-hour storage systems.

Fabiana Cavalcante, Head of ABB Power Electronics, explained:

“We are thrilled to see our collaboration with Hitachi Construction Machinery reach this critical milestone. This project not only addresses power supply challenges for dump trucks, but also contributes to creating a low-carbon world by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are eagerly anticipating how the production prototype will prove its capabilities at the Kansanshi copper-gold mine in Zambia. The prototype, which has completed Hitachi’s initial test circuit, was sent last week to the Kansanshi site. Following this, the final demonstration and testing program will be completed, aiming to finalize the new build specifications by late 2024.”