Caterpillar showed off the 793 Electric, its new prototype electric mining truck, and announced plans to build other electric and autonomous vehicles for industrial use, as per Teslarati.
The manufacturer has long been a heavy vehicles industry leader. Currently, the company plans to try to extend its lead with new electric offerings for heavy industry. The first product they have demonstrated was a fully-electric mining truck. Still, it’ll be followed by several other all-electric machines, charging products, and autonomous vehicle technology investments.
793 electric truck
The company showed off its 793 Electric truck prototype at its Tuscon Proving Grounds in Arizona, where the truck is tested as consumers would use it in a simulated mine.
Additionally, the 793’s bed is filled with dirt from a quarry. The truck transports the dirt to a nearby storage location, and its cargo is unloaded like any other heavy truck. However, in this case, operators benefit from decreased vehicle noise, lower vehicle emissions, and lower maintenance costs.
Caterpillar’s electric future
Specifically, the manufacturer’s presentation outlined that it would be working on fully-electric variations of its trucks, drills, large-wheel loaders, hydraulic shovels, and dozers in the upcoming years. However, Caterpillar vehicles aren’t the only thing the company hopes to sell to customers.
In addition, the company hopes to offer many of the products that would keep their EVs on the road at a large-scale industrial site; integrated digital management solutions, large vehicle charging solutions (both stationary and “dynamic” (wireless)), and power solutions.
Notably, Caterpillar supplies many large industrial sites with large diesel generators. It’s currently working to offer renewable options.
Tucson testing facility
Caterpillar noted that its Tuscon testing facility is partially powered by solar energy. The company hopes to expand its renewable power generation with more battery energy storage systems (18 MW), solar (2 MW), wind (3 MW), and even hydrogen power solutions.
Caterpillar believes the mine and the future’s other industrial areas will look quite different from the ones created and managed now. The simulated mine it demonstrates highlights the possibility of making mining and resource extraction a cleaner and more sustainable process.
Hopefully, through the company’s electric vehicle investments and other more sustainable technologies, Caterpillar can positively impact the industry it supplies.
