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Draskules t1_ixlc689 wrote

Reply to comment by dannoGB68 in This mining tractor developed by Caterpillar is completely battery-operated by redhatGizmo

An issue I can see with the cartridge style is the weight. To power that massive machine you'd need some huge, heavy batteries. You would need a crane or somthing just to swap them out

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IvorTheEngine t1_ixlj49m wrote

Even a forklift battery is far too heavy to lift by hand. The battery handling is part of the system. I'd imagine the truck would be able to lift and lower its own battery, and they'd use a long lead to power the truck between batteries.

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cat_prophecy t1_ixn8gth wrote

Forklift batteries are also lead-acid and heavy on purpose as they’re used for the counterweight.

The minimum energy density of a LiOn battery is 28% higher than lead acid and that would be using old obsolete packs. For modern packs it’s about 200-300 times higher.

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PROLAPSED_SUBWOOFER t1_ixmbbcj wrote

A machine to swap the batteries is not a big deal, even the smaller size forklift batteries are >2000lbs. Many forklifts actually use the battery as a counterweight . The issue is standardizing battery formats like electric forklifts have already done. A 10000lb truck battery wouldn't be much different, just would need a a bigger forklift to move the bigger battery.

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