Tag Archives: battery-electric equipment

EIB backing drives forward Northvolt lithium-ion gigafactory plan

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A supplier of lithium-ion batteries to the mining equipment space, Northvolt, has recently received conditional backing from the European Investment Bank for a €350 million ($385 million) loan that could finance Europe’s first home-grown gigafactory.

Northvolt said the EIB had provided an in-principle agreement for the financing – the largest ever direct EIB financing approval for battery technology – and, upon conclusion of a loan agreement, the funding would be supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The Northvolt Ett lithium-ion battery cell gigafactory will be established in Skellefteå, northern Sweden, a region home to a prominent raw material and mining cluster with a long history of process manufacturing and recycling.

“Noting the region’s clean power base, building the factory in northern Sweden will enable Northvolt to utilise 100% renewable energy within its production processes,” Northvolt said.

Northvolt already supplies lithium-ion batteries to Epiroc for its battery-electric underground mining vehicles and is believed to supply at least one of other major mining OEM.

EIB Vice-President, Andrew McDowell, said: “The development of a competitive and green battery value chain within Europe can not only cut greenhouse gas emissions by decarbonising power generation and transport, but can also help protect millions of well paid jobs in European industries in the face of increasing global competition.”

Northvolt Ett will serve as Northvolt’s primary production site, hosting active material preparation, cell assembly, recycling and auxiliaries. The construction of the first quarter of the factory is expected to be completed in 2020. Ramping up to full capacity, Northvolt Ett will produce 32 GWh/y of battery capacity, the company said.

Peter Carlsson, Co-Founder and CEO of Northvolt, said: “This EIB in principle approval is a key moment in the process of finalising our capital raise to support the establishment of Northvolt Ett. Today, we are one step closer to our goal of building the greenest batteries in the world and enabling the European transition to a decarbonised future.”

The capital raise, in which this EIB loan would be included, will finance the establishment of the first 16 GWh of battery capacity production, with the batteries from Northvolt Ett targeted for use in automotive, grid storage, and industrial and portable applications.

Ibrahim Baylan, Swedish Minister for Business, Industry and Innovation, said: “Today’s decision by the EIB is very gratifying and a big step towards a large-scale battery production in the EU and a fossil-free welfare society. The decision shows that there are prerequisites in Sweden for sustainable battery production, it is important for Sweden and the rest of the EU to produce battery materials and battery cells, based on green, Swedish electricity.”

Normet gears up for fully-electric and diesel-powered machine growth

Automation, Environmental, Explosives and blasting, Mine shafts and equipment, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

As Normet continues its new technology push, it has decided to invest in its lisalmi facility in Finland, the company’s core production and research and development site.

The company will put €3 million-5 million ($3.35 million-5.58 million) into building a new digital testing centre, expanding the production capability and investing in production automation, it said. The target is to improve productivity in lisalmi to ensure both competitiveness and to have manufacturing capacity to support business growth.

The announcement came shortly after Normet launched a fully-electric offering for mining and tunnelling construction at the recent Bauma fair in Munich, earlier this month.

Its SmartDrive technology is a sophisticated and fully-engineered battery-electric architecture able to operate underground totally emission-free, saving costs at the same time, it says.

The company also used the event to showcase its SmartScan 3D laser scanning technology to validate the spraying quality and SmartSpray, the next step towards fully-automated concrete spraying technology, according to Normet.

In the latest lisalmi announcement, Normet said it expected the demand for both for fully-electric and diesel-powered machines to grow, hence its planned investment.

Kari Hämäläinen, SVP Equipment Business Line, Normet, said: “lisalmi is the core production and research and development site for us. We want to ensure we have the best technology capabilities to meet the demand of future. Streamlining the manufacturing process and increasing productivity is also critical to ensure our competitiveness going forward.”

Cummins to showcase electric prototype mini excavator at Bauma show

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining events, Power supply for mines, , , , , ,

Cummins will feature an electric prototype mini excavator at its Bauma stand on April 8-14, showing visitors it is “transforming our industries, and innovating the latest alternative power solutions”, Executive Director of Electrified Power, Julie Furber says.

Powered by Cummins BM4.4E flexible battery modules (4.4 kWh each), the 3.5-ton (3.2-t) Hyundai excavator prototype to go on show at the company’s stand (A4-325) is designed to support a full work shift and charge in under three hours, according to Cumms.

Cummins and Hyundai are not the only companies developing battery-electric excavators for the construction space. Volvo recently announced it would launch a range of electric compact excavators (EC15 to EC27) by mid-2020, with the first machines to be unveiled at the event in Munich. Caterpillar dealer, Pon Equipment, has also recently delivered a 26-t battery-electric excavator to a Norway-based construction site.

Furber said: “We look forward to continuing to partner with companies like Hyundai to design and test the construction industry’s latest technologies.”

The machine eliminates all gaseous emissions and substantially reduces noise, making it ideal for use in urban and sub-urban construction, according to the company.

The excavator contains eight BM4.4E modules connected in a series configuration to provide a total energy of 35 kWh. Mounted near the base of the excavator, the Cummins-designed and built battery modules use lithium-ion technology to achieve a higher energy density and proprietary control technology to maintain the battery state-of-charge for a longer zero emission range, Cummins said, adding that the modular design allows for scalability to other applications and duty cycles.