VA Erzberg stated: “Up to now, the transport of more than 13 Mt of rock per year has required enormous amounts of energy of around 4.5 million liters of diesel per year. It will be three million liters less diesel in the future when the successors to the mechanical diesel trucks currently in use start operating at Erzberg.”

Successful test phase

Since signing the development contract for the trolley system at Bauma 2019, VA Erzberg has been testing the modified T 236 diesel-electric truck in its siderite iron ore mine in Eisenerz, Austria. The tests were conducted on a 500 m long test segment.

This is the way it works: The diesel-electric truck is equipped with a current collector with bars that connect the truck drive system to the overhead power lines on uphill haulage segments to drive with electric power. This innovative technology allows for tracks with small radiuses and even switchbacks. It also allows for a wider use of the haul road width aside of the catenary line in comparison with conventional pantograph solutions. This is of importance when the haul road conditions are not optimal due to weather conditions for example.

Josef Pappenreiter, Technical Director of VA Erzberg says, “There are only a few companies in the world that use overhead line technology for their trucks. However, we realized very quickly that the existing technology would not work for us. Our newly developed technology is different from everything previously available on the market in terms of both the overhead line system and the vehicle technology itself. This could only be developed with our cooperative and innovative partner Liebherr Mining in Colmar.”