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cruisin5268d t1_ixqmtm1 wrote

Reply to comment by echoshadow5 in Caterpillar Successfully Tests First All-Electric Large Mining Truck by Sorin61

Electric mining equipment is nothing new. Giant crawlers have existed powered by massive electric cable tethers.

This just cuts that cord. And even if they are recharged on site by diesel generators that is still more efficient in the end. Diesel/electric hybrid technology has been around for decades

Why are you so threatened by EVs?

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HAHA_goats t1_ixqr9hp wrote

Gotta quibble that efficiency claim.

Gensets have pretty poor efficiency. It's not likely to be more efficient than the on-board engine. You get some benefit when scaling up, so one big generator is better than multiple small ones if you have a consistently high demand. That leaves a little room for gains if you'll be constantly recharging multiple trucks. But that will almost certainly be offset by losses in the batteries themselves.

Fossil fuel power plants on the grid just use a much more efficient heat cycle than diesel. It's hands-down better to charge vehicles from the grid or renewable.

edit for the stupid: I am not arguing against battery EVs. I'm just pointing out that charging them with diesel gensets isn't beneficial.

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