It’s hard to believe but we’re now close to a decade into our full-fleet electrification program, initiated in 2015 and launched to the mining world at MINExpo 2016. Since that time, MacLean has gone on to battery electrify 25+ mining vehicle models, sell 100+ BEV units, and log close to half a million operating hours at sites in Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia.
The latest MacLean mining vehicles to receive the BEV design treatment are the ML5 Multi-Lift, the FR3 Forklift and the GR5 Grader. We continue to build frontline knowledge from the commissioning and support of MacLean BEV fleets at mine sites in Canada (Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia), working with our early adopter customers to optimize the return on investment from their diesel-free fleet operations.
There have been a number of important learnings across the first nine years of BEV fleet rollout, some expected and some not. Quality of power remains a challenge at many sites but mitigation measures are now available and earlier planning is now standard practice. We also continue to future proof our EV mining vehicles design through a number of initiatives, including:
- Securing a battery supplier from Michigan (just next door to our manufacturing base in southern Ontario);
- Providing our customers with a wider range of battery sizes and power outputs depending on their unique application scenarios;
- Better training support for operators and maintenance teams being introduced to diesel-free mining fleets for the first time; and,
- Understanding that electrification adoption and automation adoption will eventually go hand-in-hand, so keeping our eye on the ball when it comes to the importance of collaborating to advance interoperability in underground mining, as we have done with both Sandvik and Epiroc.
So stay tuned as or BEV evolution continues. The upcoming MINExpo 2024 in Las Vegas at the end of September will mark the next chapter in our decades-long longstanding commitment to making a business out of the marriage of engineered solutions and environmental stewardship.
