Battery Electric Vehicle an Emerging Choice in Ground Mining, says Beroe Inc

Replacing diesel-run equipment with battery electric vehicles in mining operations may lead to reduced pollution and lower operational and maintenance costs. 

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Owing to its higher economic feasibility, lower carbon emission, and limited operational and maintenance cost, battery electric vehicles are emerging as a preferred option in underground mining. This comes as a response to rising worries about diesel-driven vehicles and their contribution to the carbon footprint and impact on sustainability goals.

"Global underground mining operations are mainly conducted by diesel-driven vehicles in line with the mine health and safety standards. However, such diesel-driven equipment contributes immensely to the global carbon footprint and thus raises sustainability concerns," said Anjana Singh, Category Specialization Analyst at Beroe. "An advancement in battery technology can be beneficial, whereby the current diesel-powered uncrackable vehicles for underground mining operations are replaced."

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are an economically viable option compared to diesel-driven vehicles used in mining operations. Here are some of the other benefits of BEVs:

• They entail lower emissions and lower operational and maintenance costs. The carbon emissions of BEVs are considerably lower than diesel-run vehicles, which reduces the risk of occupational hazards among mine workers. BEVs waste less energy. There are no particle emissions and air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides. BEVs such as cars, buses, trucks, and trains are more efficient than diesel-run internal combustion engines.
  
• BEVs run on electrically powered engines; hence, there is no requirement for lubrication. Maintenance of battery-powered engines is much easier than maintaining vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. In diesel-run vehicles, the braking process involves a waste of kinetic energy as it is released as frictional heat. 'Regenerative braking' is a feature of BEVs, which further improves efficiency by reducing waste of kinetic energy. It converts kinetic energy to potential energy, which is used to charge the batteries.
  
• Battery Electric Vehicles cause less noise pollution and emit lower heat and greenhouse emissions. The carbon footprint of BEVs is much lower when compared to that of diesel-run vehicles. They incur fewer losses related to mechanical parts. They do not sit idle while resting due to the regenerative braking feature. Operational cost is less compared to that of diesel-run vehicles. Battery Electric Vehicles are more sustainable to drastic climatic changes.

BEVs do have some shortcomings. They have a lower energy content compared to the energy content of traditional diesel equipment. Hence, their ability to store energy is 50 percent lower than that of diesel-run vehicles. Furthermore, the volumetric energy density of BEVs is 30 percent lower than that of diesel equipment. Battery electric equipment is generally expensive compared with diesel-powered vehicles. It also requires an immobile charging infrastructure. Recharging the battery takes time.

Battery Electric Vehicles must be designed to eliminate arrangements that cause faulty states or section failures. Parts must be designed to cope with stress levels brought about by various stress factors such as mechanical vibration, high and low temperature ranges, humidity levels, pollutants, and more. An energy storage system must be placed internally or externally in BEVs. Current protection devices can be placed near storage cells to protect the energy storage system from high or faulty current instances. 

The noiseless operation of the BEVs eliminates noise pollution during operation. However, it could pose a threat to the safety of workers working near any BEV employed at the mine site as it may lead to accidents. Workers must be alerted that the BEVs are in operation, and 'warning sounds' must be incorporated in the vehicles during directional forward and reverse movements. 

"The aggressive and mass transition to battery electric vehicles is almost imminent. And this is true not just in ground mining but across the board," said Anjana Singh, Category Specialization Analyst at Beroe. "Talking about improving the performance of BEVs, the framework of battery electric vehicles should contain capacitors to store energy and should not dispel charges immediately. There are plenty of other measures that can be taken to address the shortcomings of BEVs so as to promote their greater adoption. In the coming years, that's exactly what we will witness."

For more such market insights, procurement intelligence, supplier analysis, price, and cost benchmarking, please log on to Beroe LiVE.Ai: https://www.beroeinc.com/beroe-live-ai/ 

About Beroe Inc

Beroe is the world's leading provider of procurement intelligence and supplier compliance solutions. We provide critical market information and analysis that enables companies to make smart sourcing decisions — leading to lower costs, greater profits, and reduced risk. Beroe has been providing these services for more than 15 years and currently works with more than 10,000 companies worldwide, including 400 of the Fortune 500 companies. For more information about Beroe Inc., please visit https://www.beroeinc.com/. 

Media Contact:
Debobrata Hembram
debobrata.hembram@beroe-inc.com 

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