Rolls-Royce and Flanders Electric have agreed to develop a retrofit concept for hybridizing mining trucks that can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 30%. It integrates mtu engines, batteries and hybrid control systems, and Flanders drive train solutions.

The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding enabling them to offer a scalable retrofit kit for hybridizing mining trucks in a wide range of mining applications.

With its brand mtu, Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems is a leading provider of advanced integrated and sustainable power solutions for a wide variety of applications, including mining equipment. Flanders is an industry leader in the development and sale of electric motors and generator systems, as well as automation and control systems for heavy industrial applications.

The companies plan to leverage their extensive experience to offer customers hybrid solutions that aim to save fuel and reduce the CO₂ footprint of mining trucks as well as optimizing vehicle power performance and efficiency, enabling more climate-friendly and safer mining operations.

The mining truck hybrid concept recovers braking energy using the mtu EnergyPack battery system. This energy is then fed back to power the wheel motors, allowing the diesel engine to be downsized. The smaller engine reduces fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 30%, helping mining customers to achieve their emissions reduction targets, while optimizing their operations.

The hybrid concept also includes the DC/DC converters which interface the battery system with the DC link of the truck. The system is highly modular and scalable for trucks of any size, working anywhere in the world.

mtu diesel engines have been setting the standards for performance and fuel-efficiency in mining applications around the globe for decades. They reliably power vehicles for underground and surface mining, including loading vehicles such as excavators and wheel loaders; transport vehicles such as haul trucks or blast hole drilling rigs; and other mining machines: diesel-mechanic, diesel-electric or diesel-hydraulic.

Hybrid solutions are already part of the mtu portfolio. The mtu Hybrid PowerPack is set to enter rail service in the UK and helps customers cut fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 25%. The drive solution and its mtu batteries—which can also be used on hybrid mining trucks—offer high performance, reliability and maintenance friendliness while conforming to the highest safety standards.

Rolls-Royce has a plan with sequential steps for the mining industry: from existing Tier 4 technology—which already reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 6% compared to Tier 2 engines—to the use of sustainable fuels and new technologies, such as fuel cells and combustion engines running on hydrogen.