China has put its first 100-tonne-class mining dump truck that is fully electric, fully autonomous and able to drive in both directions into service at the Nanlutian open-pit coal mine in Holingol, Inner Mongolia. Called the AT150, it carries a rated payload of 136 tonnes and uses all-wheel steering with no fixed front or rear, so it never has to turn around on a narrow pit face. The mine reports energy costs per unit of output running 65 percent below a diesel truck of the same size. This is what China has just put at an coal mine in Inner Mongolia. A driverless mining truck to work that has no front and no back. This is the AT150, hauling coal at the Nanlutian open-pit mine in Holingol Rated payload, 136 tonnes. It’s the country’s first 100-tonne-class mining truck that’s fully electric, fully autonomous, and able to drive both ways. All four wheels steer, and the usual cab-at-one-end layout is gone. So on a narrow pit face it never turns around. It just changes direction and keeps hauling. The vehicle can achieve a fully closed-loop operation process encompassing automatic loading, autonomous driving and precision unloading. It runs semi-solid-state batteries with 900-volt ultra-fast charging and swappable packs, so it isn’t parked waiting to charge. They’re rated from minus 30 to plus 50 degrees Celsius, which matters through an Inner Mongolian winter. The mine says energy cost per unit of output is 65% below a same-size diesel truck, with over six hours of continuous running and 85% availability. ADVERTISEMENT