Maclean utilizing Xalt & Freudenberg systems in mining machinery
The Canadian manufacturer MacLean Engineering wants to operate its heavy mining machines of the EV series and other equipment emission-free. The company is relying on technology from Xalt Energy and Freudenberg Battery Power Systems, both subsidiaries of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FTS).
According to an accompanying press release, MacLean has already been supplying battery-electric machines to mining companies in Canada for five years. The collaboration with the German suppliers is intended to enable the Canadian company to expand “its diesel-free, fleet options to customers around the world”. Specifically, MacLean is using the XMP76P battery subpack from Freudenberg Battery Power Systems. More than 30 vehicle types have already been configured for the Freudenberg battery system, says the Weinheim-based supplier. These include rock crushers, boom trucks, explosives loaders, roadway excavation machines, cassette carriers, road graders, concrete trucks and sprayers.
“We are proud to support MacLean Engineering’s EV Series with a heavy-duty battery solution that meets the power requirements generated in a rugged, underground, mining environment,” commented Nils Martens, Senior Vice President of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ Battery & Fuel Cell Systems Division. “The XMP76P checks all of the right boxes and is helping to make clean, safe, sustainable mining a reality.”
Part of Freudenberg’s XPAND modular pack portfolio, the XMP76P is powered by lithium-ion cell technology from XALT Energy. To achieve an energy level of more than 106 kWh per vehicle, MacLean uses multiple subpacks in series, Freudenberg says. With a 6C discharge and 3C charge capability, the XMP76P is ideal for applications with high discharge power and regenerative power requirements, it says. The subpack’s flexible housing allows for customised electrical and cooling interfaces, it added. The active liquid cooling system ensures ideal cell temperatures that respond quickly to increases in power demand and ambient temperatures, it added.
“As concerns about climate change and increasing CO2 emissions drive much of the world to embrace battery-electric powertrains, the mining industry finds itself at a unique juncture,” said Patrick Marshall, vice president of product management at MacLean. On the one hand, “Demand for the ores and minerals that support the development of emission-free, electric vehicles and machinery are increasing. However, without a shift to carbon-neutral mining operations the increased emissions from the extraction of these resources could potentially offset any environmental gains.”
MacLean launched the EV Series in 2016 and has continued to grow the portfolio since then. Most recently, in 2021, the range was expanded to include an articulated heavy-duty shotcrete paver and grader designed specifically for the harsh conditions of underground mining. “Many mining companies have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and some by an even more aggressive goal of 2030” says Marshall. “They want to score well on key Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) performance indicators, which is increasingly important to investors. As governments set new CO2 emission standards in accordance with the Paris Accord, the mining industry is pushing hard to do its part.”
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