The world's first mining dump truck equipped with a sodium-ion traction battery has been put into operation in China. The machine was jointly developed by battery manufacturer Hina Battery and Tonly Heavy Industry, a company specializing in heavy mining equipment.

The new product is built on the Tonly TLE120 platform and received a Haixing series battery with a capacity of 676 kWh. The energy density of the cells reaches 165 Wh/kg, which allows the dump truck to be used for transporting heavy loads on short routes within quarries.

One of the main features of the new battery is its high charging speed. According to the developers, it takes only 20–25 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%. At the same time, even with regular use of fast charging, the battery life exceeds 8000 cycles, which is comparable to the service life of the mining dump truck itself.

Another advantage of sodium-ion technology is its resistance to low temperatures. Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries, such batteries lose significantly less capacity in frost, which allows the equipment to work more efficiently in open-pit mines in northern regions during winter.

In addition to zero emissions, the electric machine has a lower noise level compared to diesel counterparts. This reduces the environmental impact of mining equipment and improves working conditions for operators.

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