Two 120-tonne battery-electric trucks are now hauling iron ore deep inside Sweden’s Malmberget mine, showing how electric heavy transport is moving beyond surface operations and into demanding underground production.
The Scania-based semi-trailer trucks can carry just over 70 tonnes each and use 624 kWh battery packs. They are operating at depths of up to 1,250 metres below ground as part of LKAB’s effort to reduce emissions from its mining operations.
A 120-tonne battery-electric truck operates deep inside Sweden's Malmberget mine. Image: Scania.
During commissioning, the trucks have already moved more than 100,000 tonnes of iron ore across about 1,500 round trips. LKAB says the vehicles have demonstrated about seven hours of operation per charge, covering roughly 45 trips and moving about 3,200 tonnes of material.
The trucks can charge at up to 375 kW, with a full charge taking about 80 minutes. They move ore between underground chutes and crushers at a mine that handles more than 50,000 tonnes of iron ore each day.
The trucks’ seven-hour operating window and 80-minute full-charge time give LKAB data on how electric haulage can fit into those production cycles.
The project also provides a test of whether large battery-powered vehicles can maintain the productivity required for continuous mining operations rather than simply demonstrate that they can move heavy loads. LKAB is now preparing another electric truck for a more demanding test.
Electric truck targets round-the-clock
A separate Scania 8×4 heavy tipper, called Sleipner, is being prepared for continuous 24/7 production. The vehicle weighs about 60 tonnes when fully loaded, carries a 38-tonne payload and has a 416kWh battery.
LKAB is evaluating whether Sleipner can replace a diesel truck performing the same production task. Unlike the 120-tonne underground semi-trailers, the 8×4 is intended to test whether a battery-electric truck can maintain diesel-like availability during around-the-clock operation.
The two programs therefore address different parts of mine electrification. The larger trucks are demonstrating heavy battery-electric haulage deep underground, while Sleipner is being tested against the availability demands of continuous production.
LKAB and Scania have been working on mining electrification for several years. An earlier Scania electric heavy tipper entered surface operation at Malmberget in 2022 and accumulated around 50,000km during its initial test phase.
LKAB aims to electrify 30% of its mining fleet by 2027. It also wants to haul and load at least five million tonnes of material annually without tailpipe emissions.
“We may have built the world’s heaviest battery-electric underground truck – but we’re just getting started, with bigger, better and smarter things already in the making,” said Pär Sundqvist.