Submitted by Sorin61 t3_z47vks in technology
JollyTotal3653 t1_ixswrig wrote
Reply to comment by opeth10657 in Caterpillar Successfully Tests First All-Electric Large Mining Truck by Sorin61
I’m no engineer so don’t expect a crazy in debt analysis from me, I’m just saying they already use overhead cables. Some electric trains have batteries for short movements away from overhead lines… I’m assuming this is a similar idea, recall these things have multi ton engines that are being removed not just diesel. If that huge engine is only being used for short distances it may be viable in the future to change those out for batteries as the electric drive system is already in place what would be removed is the diesel (more energy dense than battery I know) and the massive diesel engine and all it’s components, (all together likely close to the same if not less energy dense for short trips from the cables to the load site and back) considering all the electric system really needs to add is batteries and a controller it may be possible that the battery powered trucks could be viable in the future given the site has the proper infrastructure to support it.
opeth10657 t1_ixsx6be wrote
> recall these things have multi ton engines that are being removed not just diesel
Similar to ICE and electric cars, it's just that the batteries weigh more than everything they remove. They'll probably have to add a lot of weight in batteries even to move it a short distance
Our current battery tech is pretty limiting
MyPacman t1_ixtmvqg wrote
>Our current battery tech is pretty limiting
An incremental improvement is better than no improvement. These are a better choice, and what comes after them will be an improvement too.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments