Komatsu advances trolley-assist systems
Autonomous haul trucks can now draw power from overhead lines. On uphill sections, trucks connect to the trolley system, increasing loaded travel speed by 50-100% while reducing fuel consumption.
The solution operates within FrontRunner AHS in Australia, Chile, the United States, Canada, and Japan. The first autonomous haul truck successfully drew power from an overhead line in operating conditions this year.
Komatsu also introduced the modular 930E Power Agnostic platform, supporting diesel, battery, or hydrogen power with trolley assist. This allows adaptation to each mine’s energy infrastructure.
The Chinese Autonomous Boom
At Yimin Mine, 100 Huaneng Ruichi autonomous electric haul trucks with 90-ton capacity entered service.
These machines can travel up to 60 km on a single charge, operate at temperatures up to -40°C and are connected to 5G-Advanced with a capacity of 500 Mbps and a delay of only 20 ms.
Meanwhile, at Zhahanaoer coal mine in Inner Mongolia, the Eacon autonomous haul truck fleet was expanded to 135 vehicles following accident-free operation of the first 17 trucks, which had travelled a combined 750,000 km.
The fleet is expected to reach 400 vehicles next month, supporting annual production above 40 million tons. Current haul distance is 3 km, with plans to extend it to 10 km.
Growth of robotization in Russia
According to industry reviews, the country’s installed industrial robot fleet grew by 62% in 2024, reaching 20,864 units.
According to IMARC Group, the industrial robotics market in Russia was about $389 million in 2024 and could grow to more than $1.1 billion by 2033 with an average annual growth of about 12%.
Special attention should be paid to the segment of software for robots, which was estimated at $231 million in 2023 and can grow more than four times by 2030. This is due to the growing demand for digital twins, quality automation, solutions based on artificial intelligence and predictive analytics tools.
A new era of industrial robotics
China is expanding mining automation through large autonomous fleets that improve efficiency as well as replacing driving tasks. Komatsu is advancing overhead power for heavy equipment while preparing for battery and hydrogen power.
In Russia, the dynamics are also positive: the number of industrial robots and digital control systems is increasing, and the market for specialized software is growing at a double-digit rate.
Robotization has long gone beyond fiction and has become a practical necessity for the mining and manufacturing industries. Companies that modernize processes in time and invest in staff training will set the rules of the game in the industry for years to come.
Reliable network coverage and intelligent dispatch systems provide the foundation for automation. Connectum has designed these systems for complex industrial sites for more than 12 years.
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