Caterpillar Resource Industries president Denise Johnson says the manufacturing giant’s Dynamic Energy Transfer (DET) system offers a “technological leap for the mining industry” that can help solve the complex energy management challenge presented by the energy transition.
The US company says DET is a fully Caterpillar-developed system that can transfer energy to both diesel-electric and battery-electric large mining trucks while they are working around a mine site.
“It can also charge a machine’s batteries while operating with increased speed on grade, improving operational efficiency and machine uptime,” it said.
“The innovative Cat DET system provides the industry with options to support both near-term and long-term sustainability strategies.”
The system features a power module that converts energy from a mine site’s power source, an electrified rail system to transmit the energy and a machine system to transfer the energy to the truck’s powertrain.
“The rail system is a highly deployable, mobile solution that can be customised to customers’ specific site layouts, including high-speed and curved haul roads, enabling higher productivity,” Caterpillar said.
“The connecting arm can be installed on either side of a truck and on multiple truck models, providing options to fit customers’ specific operations. It can also be used on mature or developing sites, and it can be easily moved or expanded to allow maximum mine site coverage.”
The company will show off DET at the MINExpo 2024 show in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting September 24.
