The Charge On Innovation Challenge, formally launched on May 13 as a push for industry, OEMs and other stakeholders to come up with workable solutions for faster charging of large surface electric mining trucks and spearheaded by Austmine, has shortlisted 21 vendors to progress to the next phase of the challenge.

These 21 vendors are matched by 21 mining companies who have joined as patrons. This includes founding patrons BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale, alongside Roy Hill, Teck, Boliden, Thiess, Antofagasta Minerals, Codelco, Freeport McMoRan, Gold Fields, Yancoal, Barrick Gold, CITIC Pacific Mining, Evolution Mining, Harmony Gold, Mineral Resources Ltd, Newcrest Mining, OZ Minerals, South32 and Syncrude.

The 21 vendors to have made the cut were selected from more than 80 organisations that submitted expressions of interest.

The list of companies to make it to the next stage (one of which who declined to be named) includes:

• 3ME Technology;
• ABB;
• Altreonic-Kurt.energy;
• Ampcontrol/Tritium;
• Australian Turntables;
• BluVein;
• DB Engineering & Consulting with Echion Technologies;
• Farmboro Consulting;
• Hitachi Group;
• Infosys;
• InvertedPower Pty Ltd;
• IT & ES Industries (OZ) Pty Ltd;
• L&T Technology Services;
• Midwest Energy Pvt. Ltd;
• Mitsui & Co. with Forsee Power and AVL;
• Saft;
• Shell Consortium;
• Siemens;
• Solar System Resources Corporation Sp. z o. o.; and
• Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Group Heavy-Duty Equipment Co. Ltd;

The next phase of the challenge will comprise of a pitch session followed by a deep dive into the innovative solutions proposed to charge haul trucks powered by battery instead of diesel, Austmine says.