Antofagasta joins the Charge On Innovation Challenge
02 July 2021
The initiative seeks to develop solutions to charge the batteries of electric mining trucks safely, quickly and sustainably. This is essential in order to replace the use of diesel in these trucks and the emissions it produces.
On 2 July, Antofagasta joined as a patron of the Charge On Innovation Challenge. It is a global initiative for suppliers from different fields to develop solutions for large-scale haul truck electrification systems to help the mining sector reduce its consumption of diesel fuel and cut emissions from surface mine operations.
The goal is to enable trucks of 220 tons or more to stop using diesel and run on electric batteries, just like other electric vehicles. In order to achieve this, it is essential to develop a battery charging system that does not use polluting fuels and, at the same time, allows the extraction trucks to operate as they usually do. Today there are already efforts underway to develop and use electric trucks, but those are for trucks of a smaller tonnage (100 tons) which can regenerate their own energy. The collaborative work with the Charge On Innovation Challenge seeks to develop solutions for larger trucks.
Iván Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta, said: “As a mining group focused on innovation, we are interested in collaborating and contributing to the development of the industry for the future. That is why we decided to participate in this challenge, which is key to being able to use electric trucks and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
As part of its Climate Change Strategy, from 2022, the electricity supplying Antofagasta companies will come from renewable sources. Antofagasta’s Zaldívar mine has been operating from clean energy sources since July 2020.
Thanks to these advances and other measures adopted by the company, Antofagasta was able to reduce its GHG emissions by more than 580,000 tons since 2018. Its new goal is to decrease those emissions by an additional 30% between now and 2025.
The Charge On Innovation Challenge was launched by BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto in partnership with Austmine. More information about the Challenge can be found here https://chargeoninnovation.com/