
Dawson coal mine near Moura, Queensland, operated by Anglo American and Mitsui companies. Image: ABB
ABB and Amazon Web Services have continued their relationship in a collaboration with MEDATech for end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) solutions to achieve sustainability goals.
The companies developed a software solution to provide mine operators with real-time vehicle data such as battery state, charge speed and utilisation.
The software combines ABB Ability Operations Management System (OMS) with MEDATech’s cloud data collection system, all on the AWS platform.
MEDATech works in a range of heavy industries and has expertise in the development of heavy-duty EV drivetrains.
The companies trialled the software on MEDATech’s pioneering 100 per cent electric haul truck – paired with ABB’s fast charging pilot solution, ABB Ability eMine FastCharge.
AWS director of global ISV (Independent software vendors) alliances, Flemming Kongsberg, said the final product of this collaboration filled a significant need for mining companies.
“In the course of the digital transformation and decarbonisation in the industrial sector, customers are looking for end-to-end integrated solutions to optimise their operations,” Kongsberg said.
“Together, ABB, MEDATech and AWS have demonstrated a fully integrated solution for mining operators to combine data from electric vehicles and operations to maximise their efficiency and contribute to their sustainability goals.”
In an increasingly productive mining industry, MEDATECH director of sales and marketing Darren Mueller said the industry needed a solution like this
“Mine operators have full control over the information, including analytics modelling for increased productivity, more machine uptime through predictive maintenance and better power usage,” Mueller said.
“We have worked with ABB over five years on mine electrification processes and solutions, including high powered charging and electric-vehicle mine simulations.
“AWS represents the last piece of this puzzle as we move forward as partners to help decarbonise operations.”
The companies will now work to implement the proven technology in a real mining environment, as part of an ABB eMine project.
“Having proven the feasibility with the MEDATech battery electric vehicle and looking ahead, the focus will be on driving digital interoperability by scaling towards further mining assets, mobile as well as stationary, and addressing their dependencies to optimise the overall process efficiency,” ABB stated.