European battery manufacturer Northvolt has delivered its largest order of lithium-ion battery systems to date to mining and infrastructure industries supplier Epiroc.

Epiroc Boltec M Battery rock bolting rig, right side view. Source: Epiroc.

Northvolt has partnered with Epiroc for more than two years and has developed a platform of Li-ion battery systems tailored for Epiroc machines. The solution is a modular heavy-duty subpack which may be connected in varying configurations within a battery system to scale in order to meet the performance requirements of various vehicle platforms.

Of the battery systems delivered to date, several have been integrated into fully operational battery-powered machines now deployed for test and verification.

Epiroc’s Scooptram ST14 Battery: a fully battery electric loader with 14-tonne capacity. Source: Northvolt

The test fleet includes battery-powered drill rigs, loaders and trucks, with from two to five subpacks. The fleet includes the MT42 underground truck which features a 42-tonne load capacity—the largest battery-operated minetruck on the market.

This modular approach enables gains in functionality and drives volumes, which in turn is required to reduce costs and bring electric machine to a cost-competitive level against internal combustion engine platforms.