Ballooning demand for sustainability drives major battery expansion

On three continents, Sandvik is vastly expanding its capacity to produce cutting-edge batteries and the equipment they power. Electrification, powered by renewable energy, is the key to achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the world by the middle of this century.

Text: Michael MillerPhoto: Adam LachPublished: 9 December 2024

The world’s march towards sustainability is getting a boost from Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ expansion of its state-of-the-art battery system facility in Camarillo, California. The facility is nearly doubling its size to more than 8,400 square meters (90,000 square feet), as the mining industry increasingly sees the benefits of going electric in underground operations. This expansion ensures the possibility to grow production and testing capabilities for batteries and battery-powered loaders and trucks.

Key to the expansion is Sandvik’s new next generation battery module, set to power the next-generation of electrification in the industry. The new module represents the cutting edge of the technology to drive sustainability, efficiency and profitability for mining companies around the world, while making the underground environment quieter and healthier for workers.

“The new module has a 36 percent increase in energy density,” says Joseph Beck, head of Batteries and Chargers R&D, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions. “For the loader, that will result in a 36 percent longer runtime. And for the haul trucks, it may be an extra trip before having to change  your battery.”

“The industry is adopting battery–electric vehicles (BEVs) at a remarkable rate,” says Brian Huff, Vice President, New Technologies and Innovation, Load and Haul. To meet the growing demand, the Camarillo facility is transitioning to more automated assembly processes. “We’re seeing a lot of interest in battery equipment, and we need to be ready for an increased demand,” Huff says. “Doing that in an automated fashion allows us to scale up more aggressively and also improves our reliability and quality overall.”

As the Camarillo operation ramps up its production of the new battery modules, Sandvik is also expanding its related operations in Malaysia and Finland.

A new 8,000-square-meter (86,000 square feet) facility located 70 kilometers south of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur is dedicated to manufacturing underground load and haul equipment. The first equipment model assembled at the new factory is Sandvik’s Toro LH517i loader, with production expected to ramp up over the coming year. The facility will begin production of Toro TH545i trucks later in 2024, as part of a cross-manufacturing plan. Battery product manufacturing is slated to begin by the fourth quarter of 2024, with BEV unit assembly scheduled for 2025, aligning with future electrification goals.

In Finland, Sandvik has recently expanded its plant in the south-western city of Turku to incorporate the manufacture of BEVs for underground mining. Alongside the expansion, the whole of the plant for load and haul equipment is set to be enhanced and modernized. The move comes in response to increasing demand for load and haul equipment for underground mining, together with the industry’s growing trend towards electrification and digitalization.

The expansion involves building three completely new machine assembly lines, one of which is designated for the manufacture of BEVs – a first for the Turku plant, which has manufactured mining loaders and trucks since the early 1980s.

The next-generation battery module is designed to be backward compatible with existing equipment, so that the battery pack fits into the same cage. Customers can swap in a new module for an old one and continue to run their existing product.

“Backward compatibility was one of the missions from day one,” Huff says. “We didn’t want to make the existing infrastructure obsolete. When the customer is ready for a module replacement, they’re going to get an upgrade rather than having to replace the entire system. That kind of backward compatibility saves a lot of costs, so it’s a testament to our support of our customers on an ongoing basis.”

Although the new module offers a big increase in energy and performance, Sandvik is not pressing customers to replace their existing equipment immediately, Huff says. “There’s no reason not to use the batteries you currently have until they reach end of life,” he says. “When you replace them with the new module, your next round will last longer, but you don’t need to sacrifice what you currently have.”

Another big improvement with the new module involves thermal performance. “The temperature of the battery increases from 5 to 7 degrees over a cycle of operation,” Huff says. “Our new cooling design cools from both the top and bottom of the cells. With this new system we can bring the temperature down much quicker, enabling us to charge at higher rates without extending time for cooling. Lower operating temperature means longer overall life and lower total cost of ownership for the product.”

The battery management system has also been improved, Beck points out. “The system monitors the voltage and temperature of every cell in a module, so we have much better control over what’s happening with the battery. We can throttle the machine back or limit the amount of current flow to keep the battery in a safe and healthy state.”

Together, the three battery and equipment facilities will solidify Sandvik’s leading position in the sustainable and electrified future of  the mining industry.