World’s first sodium-ion electric mining truck delivered in China with 676 kWh battery capacity

On August 4, the world’s first pure electric mining truck powered by sodium-ion batteries was officially delivered at the Tangshan Sanyou mine. The vehicle is a joint research and development effort between Hina Battery and Tonly Heavy Industry.

Built upon Tonly’s TLE120 mining truck platform, the vehicle is equipped with Hina Battery’s “Haixing” series sodium-ion battery system. The system boasts a total capacity of 676 kWh, with a cell energy density of 165 Wh/kg, designed to meet the demands of short-distance, heavy-load transport within mining operations.

According to Hina Battery, the truck supports fast charging, capable of recharging from 0% to 100% in 20 to 25 minutes. Under frequent fast charging cycles, the battery maintains a cycle life of over 8,000 times. This lifespan closely aligns with the overall service life of the mining truck.

Sodium-ion batteries operate well across a wide temperature range. Compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion cells exhibit far less capacity decay in low-temperature environments. This makes the vehicle particularly suitable for open-pit mines in northern regions during winter, addressing the common “range drop” issue faced by lithium-powered electric trucks.

Compared to diesel mining trucks, the electric version eliminates exhaust emissions and reduces noise pollution.

Following its official delivery, the truck will be deployed for actual mining operations to collect real-world data under heavy-load conditions, which will be used to optimise future iterations of the product.

Previously, FAW‘s heavy-duty truck arm, FAW Jiefang, announced a milestone in the development of new energy commercial vehicles, successfully completing all-scenario testing of a heavy-duty truck powered by Hina Battery’s sodium-ion battery technology.

Editor’s comment

However, the current sodium-ion battery energy density remains lower than that of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. This sodium-ion mining truck is based on Tonly Heavy Industries’ TLE120 platform. Last year, Tonly released a TLE120 mining truck model based on lithium iron phosphate batteries, according to its official website, its battery capacity is 801 kWh, whereas the newly launched sodium-ion battery capacity is 676 kWh. This might be the reason why we haven’t seen mass adoption of sodium-ion batteries in passenger vehicles yet.