Tag Archives: Kevin Chin

Atlas Iron secures Tembo E-LV electric vehicle conversion kits

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

VivoPower International PLC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tembo E-LV, has secured an order for its electric vehicle (EV) conversion kits from Atlas Iron, an iron ore mining company based in  Western Australia.

A subsidiary of Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, Atlas Iron operates the Mt Webber, Sanjiv Ridge and Miralga mines.

Kevin Chin, VivoPower’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted to be assisting Atlas Iron in their journey towards electrification and energy efficiency. With the opening of borders across Australia and Southeast Asia, we have been increasing our engagement with other groups and expect to be announcing additional orders in due course.”

The Tembo kits are able to transform diesel-powered Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux vehicles into ruggedised e-LVs for use in mining and other hard-to-decarbonise sectors, including construction and defence.

GHH to acquire 3,000 Tembo electric light vehicle conversion kits following VivoPower pact

Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

VivoPower International PLC says it has signed a definitive agreement with GHH Group GmbH for GHH to distribute Tembo powered electric light vehicles (e-LVs) in over 50 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, using e-LV conversion kits from VivoPower’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tembo e-LV B.V.

Under the agreement, GHH intends to purchase 3,000 Tembo e-LV conversion kits through to December 2026. GHH will be responsible for acquiring original vehicles from Toyota, converting the vehicles to ruggedised e-LVs using the Tembo conversion kits, selling the Tembo powered e-LVs to end customers and providing ongoing servicing and maintenance, VivoPower says.

This distribution agreement marks VivoPower’s fifth major distribution deal in 2021 for Tembo e-LV conversion kits, and its largest to date by e-LV kit volumes, it says.

With the execution of this contract, VivoPower can now offer Tembo powered e-LVs to customers on six continents as the company continues to advance its aim to build a global Tembo distribution network before the end of the year. It previously executed distribution agreements with GB Auto Group in Australia, Acces Industriel Mining Inc in Canada and Bodiz International in Mongolia, in addition to announcing a non-binding Heads of Terms with Arctic Trucks Ltd for distribution of Tembo e-LVs in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland.

Based in Germany, GHH has over 50 years of experience in the production of robust and safe vehicles for mining and tunnelling in hard and soft rock.

The Tembo kits are billed as transforming diesel-powered Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux vehicles into ruggedised e-LVs for use in mining and other hard-to-decarbonise sectors, including construction and defence. Alongside solar generation, battery storage and on-site power distribution, Tembo e-LV products are a key component of VivoPower’s turnkey sustainable energy solutions, which help corporates achieve their decarbonisation goals, the company says.

Kevin Chin, Executive Chairman and CEO of VivoPower, said: “We are delighted to have executed this multi-country agreement with GHH, who are a trusted provider of customised technology solutions to the global mining industry. This is in keeping with our stated objective of cementing distribution agreements globally with highly credentialed partners such as GHH.

“With distribution partners on six continents now, Tembo e-LVs will be available globally for mining customers aiming to electrify their light vehicle operations as part of their drive to net zero mining.”

Sara Thorley, Global Marketing & Production Manager for GHH, said: “Being a global provider of heavy-duty mining machinery, we were constantly being asked about the possibility of supplying our customers with electric light vehicles. Due to the demand, we started looking at potential partners in this sector and, after a substantial amount of research, we decided upon the Tembo electrification kit.

“First and foremost, the Tembo solution electrified the Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux, which are the number one light vehicles used in the mining sector globally, but, secondly, the technology used created a vehicle that was smooth, efficient, safe and very cost effective. We are very excited in what the future holds for us and Tembo.”

Arctic Trucks signs electric light vehicle conversion, distribution pact with VivoPower

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , ,

VivoPower and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tembo e-LV BV, have entered into a non-binding Heads of Terms with ruggedised vehicle converter, Arctic Trucks, for Arctic Trucks to convert and distribute Tembo electric light vehicles in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland.

Under the proposed agreement, Arctic Trucks would commit to purchase 800 Tembo e-LV conversion kits through December 2026. Based upon the company’s estimates, these orders could be worth an estimated $58 million in total value over the life of the proposed agreement.

The proposed agreement must be finalised prior to June 30, 2021, unless the parties agree to an extension, and all purchase commitments would be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the final agreement.

The Tembo kits transform diesel-powered Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux vehicles into ruggedised electric light vehicles for use in mining and other hard-to-decarbonise sectors, including construction and defence. Alongside solar generation, battery storage and on-site power distribution, Tembo e-LV products are a key component of VivoPower’s turnkey net-zero solutions for corporate decarbonisation, the company says.

This proposed agreement would mark VivoPower’s third major distribution deal in 2021 for Tembo e-LVs across three continents. The company previously completed a distribution deal with GB Auto Group in Australia in January, and announced a non-binding Heads of Terms with Acces Industriel Mining Inc for distribution of Tembo e-LVs in Canada last week. The latter deal is expected to be formalised before the end of June.

Arctic Trucks specialises in the re-engineering and conversion of four-wheel drive vehicles for extreme conditions, particularly in the harsh polar regions.

Kevin Chin, Executive Chairman and CEO of VivoPower, said: “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Arctic Trucks to expand the distribution reach of our Tembo vehicles. Tembo e-LVs are engineered and built to enable decarbonisation through fleet electrification in some of the world’s harshest and most carbon-heavy industries. Arctic Trucks are no strangers to the challenges of engineering vehicles for ruggedised environments, and we look forward to working with them to help mining and other customers in the Nordic regions achieve net-zero carbon goals previously thought impossible.”

Under the proposed agreement, it is intended that Arctic Trucks would commit to purchase the 800 kits from VivoPower as scheduled over the duration of the agreement, acquire an equal number of Land Cruisers or Hilux from Toyota, convert the vehicles to ruggedised e-LVs using the Tembo solutions, sell the units on and be retained by customers for servicing and maintenance.

VivoPower and Arctic Trucks intend to finalise the proposed agreement as soon as practicable, VivoPower said.

VivoPower to expand battery-electric vehicle reach with Tembo 4×4 e-LV investment

Environmental, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

VivoPower International has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LoI) to acquire a 51% stake in specialist battery-electric and off-road vehicle company Tembo 4×4 e-LV BV.

The purchase consideration will be $4.7 million and VivoPower will have the option to acquire the remaining 49% of Tembo in the future, it said.

Founded in the Netherlands, Tembo has since grown its global sales and distribution channels across four continents, with customers in Australia, Africa, Europe, and North America. In April, it signed a distribution agreement with ACCÈS for its Electric Cruiser (covering the province of Quebec), while in June, it added CPS Africa as a distributor in parts of Africa.

For its fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Tembo generated $2.3 million in revenue and an EBITDA loss of $0.2 million (unaudited), derived from battery-electric and off-road vehicle solutions, VivoPower said.

Executive Chairman and CEO of VivoPower, Kevin Chin, said: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to invest in Tembo and to partner with Frank Daams and his team. We believe that this will deliver a win-win outcome for both parties, given the growing interest in electric vehicles from VivoPower’s customer base and the proven capabilities, technology and solutions that Tembo has already been delivering.

“Importantly, this investment would expand VivoPower’s market for electric light vehicles (ELVs) and sustainable energy solutions significantly beyond the Australian mining and infrastructure sectors. We believe that consummation of this transaction has the potential to transform our addressable market into a global one. Based on an analysis of publicly available industry data, the company estimates that the potential global addressable market for ELVs could be at least $36 billion within the markets in which Tembo is currently active (which presently do not include the United States, Asia or South America).”

Founder and CEO of Tembo, Frank Daams, said: “We are delighted by the prospect of welcoming VivoPower as a shareholder. We believe that VivoPower will bring significant value add, especially given their diverse customer base for which we can deliver a battery-electric vehicle solution. The investment has the potential to enable us to scale up production capacity, expand our global salesforce and invest further in R&D and product development.”

VivoPower, an international battery technology, electric vehicle, solar and critical power services company, is conducting due diligence and is in the process of negotiating definitive documents with Tembo in line with the LoI. The company anticipates entering into a definitive agreement with Tembo and plans to disclose the terms of such definitive agreement when and if executed. The company is working to close the transaction as promptly as practicable, subject to finalising confirmatory tax, legal and accounting due diligence.