Caterpillar Inc. announced a successful demonstration of its first battery electric 793 large mining truck and a significant investment to transform its Arizona-based proving ground into a sustainable testing and validation hub of the future.
Caterpillar completed development of its first battery electric 793 prototype with support from key mining customers participating in Caterpillar’s Early Learner program. Participants of the program with definitive electrification agreements include BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, Newmont Corporation, Rio Tinto and Teck Resources Limited.
The Early Learner program launched in 2021 and focuses on accelerating the development and validation of Caterpillar’s battery electric trucks at participating customers’ sites. This approach supports the individual commitments each Early Learner participant has made to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from their operations.
Early Learner customers came together to witness a live demonstration of Caterpillar’s prototype battery truck on a seven-kilometer course. During the event, Caterpillar monitored over 1,100 data channels, gathering 110,000 data points per second, to validate simulation and engineering modeling capabilities. Fully loaded to its rated capacity, the truck achieved a top speed of 60 km/h. The loaded truck traveled one kilometer up a 10% grade at 12 km/h. The truck also performed a one kilometer run on a 10% downhill grade, capturing the energy that would normally be lost to heat and regenerating that energy to the battery. Upon completing the entire run, the truck maintained enough battery energy to perform additional complete cycles.