Caterpillar Inc has announced a new solution to support battery electric truck charging – the Cat® Automated Energy Transfer System (Cat AETS). The company successfully demonstrated this new technology for customers recently at its Tucson Proving Ground in Green Valley, Arizona.

Cat AETS utilises robotics, robust vision systems and controls to fully automate the connection between a battery electric machine and a two- to six-megawatt stationary charger. The system replaces the manual process of mine site personnel connecting and disconnecting a charger from a battery electric machine.

Cat AETS enhances mine site safety by removing site personnel directly from the machine charging process, facilitating a more fully autonomous site operation. Automating the charging process can also reduce downtime and improve consistency and reliability of the machine charging process.

Caterpillar Senior Vice President Greg Hepler explains: “When it comes to meeting production goals, every second matters on our customers’ mine sites. Through our advancements in mining technology and automation, our repeatable processes enhance machine reliability and ultimately reduce downtime. Caterpillar is proud to offer the solutions that create benefits for the battery electric machine charging process.”

Cat AETS is a complementary offering to the company’s recently announced Cat Dynamic Energy Transfer system (Cat DET).

The development of AETS dates back to 2022, when NZX-listed Scott Technology announced an agreement with Caterpillar to develop an automated connection system to support stationary charging of electrified machines including battery mining trucks. Scott’s expertise in this space derives from its Robofuel product, which successfully automates the traditional diesel refuelling process of mining vehicles. Under the collaboration, Scott has applied this technology to enable solutions in electrified applications.