Stacktronic and Mayhew Performance say they have agreed a partnership to repurpose and electrify a personnel carrier for use in the underground mining sector.

The project, to take place in the Sudbury Basin of Ontario, Canada, will kick off in early April, with the converted vehicle to be unveiled at MINExpo in Las Vegas, Nevada, in September 2020.

Stacktronic and Mayhew Performance will be working together to install, test, and commission the battery system in an underground mining environment, they said.

Stacktronic says its “truly modular battery platform” simplifies the design process for electric powertrains, allowing any vehicle, of any size and any production volume, to be “battery-powered in weeks rather than years”.

Founded in 2020, Mayhew Performance, meanwhile, is led by Mike Mayhew, who specialises in battery technology, project delivery and execution. Prior to establishing Mayhew Performance, Mike Mayhew worked at Kirkland Lake Gold, one of the biggest users of battery-electric equipment in the mining industry through the adoption of these electrification solutions at the Macassa mine, in Ontario (Mayhew pictured with an Artisan truck at the mine). He was also recently engaged by The GMG Electric Mine Working Group for project management in the working group.

Mike Mayhew, President of Mayhew Performance, said: “I’m extremely excited to partner with Stacktronic to showcase a unique and innovative approach to batteries for underground mining vehicle electrification to create a zero emission mine.”

Keith Teeple, CEO of Stacktronic, added: “Mayhew Performance has the industry experience and has spearheaded electrification projects for major mining companies and OEMs in the past. We’re looking forward to working with him and demonstrating this new battery technology.”

Northern Ontario is the epicentre of underground mining electrification, with several mines having employed battery-electric and other electric loaders, trucks and utility and production support vehicles in their mines.

The companies said the objective is to grow the partnership into a collaboration that “brings together stakeholders across the mining industry by introducing safe, innovative and clean technology”.