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ABB will install haul truck trolley assist infrastructure to help Copper Mountain achieve a reduction in carbon intensity by more than 50 percent in medium-term with a final target of zero by 2035

ABB has grown its footprint in the journey to the all-electric mine by winning an order to deliver a complete open-pit haul truck trolley assist solution for Copper Mountain Mining in Canada. The installation, which includes engineering, supply and construction management for a DC substation and an overhead catenary system (OCS), combines ABB’s electrification and automation expertise in the mining industry.

Copper Mountain mine near Princeton, British Columbia is the mining company’s flagship site. It is a conventional open-pit, truck and shovel operation which produces approximately 100 million pounds (45,000 metric tons) of copper equivalent per year. It is estimated that the initial phase of the trolley assist system, which will be installed in late 2021, will reduce carbon emissions at the site by up to 7 percent. Copper Mountain Mining has advised that overall the mine will reduce carbon intensity by more than 50 percent in 5-7 years through electrification and capacity increase.

 ABB just announced that it will deliver a trolley assist solution to help Copper Mountain Mining in Canada

The company’s sustainable development journey has a final target of zero by 2035 and the project, using electric-drive haul trucks, is indicative of the move towards mine electrification in the region.

Each truck will be fitted with a pantograph to receive external electric power. ABB will take responsibility for the off-truck trolley assist infrastructure and provide engineering, project management, equipment supply, system commissioning and construction management. ABB will design the overhead catenary system (OCS) infrastructure and deliver a rectifier substation providing in excess of 12MW of DC power to the trolley assist system. The trolley control system can provide connectivity to the existing distributed control system (DCS) automation platform for seamless integration and monitoring of trolley operations and energy consumption. ABB is also providing OCS components customized for mining applications.

“From initial feasibility study onwards, ABB has been aligned with our commitments to develop our mining operations in a way that fits with energy conservation and emissions reduction goals,” said Walt Halipchuk, Copper Mountain Mining’s Director of Energy Management. “The trolley assist infrastructure is an essential part of our plans to reach our bold medium to long-term targets, and ABB has proven the results it can have in terms of helping reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We trust their expertise and have achieved past successes together, notably with grinding and automation systems already in operation in the mine.”

“A trolley assist system significantly reduces GHG emissions for ultra-class mining haul trucks, which are typically the biggest source of emissions in a mining operation,” said Sachin Jari, Industry Lead – Mining, North America at ABB. “Together with Copper Mountain Mining, we look forward to making this happen again so they can meet their sustainability goals, while staying competitive and ensuring high performance. ABB is a reliable and committed partner for all-electric transformation and this project underlines our world-class expertise in mine electrification.”

ABB collaborates with mining companies from initial feasibility studies through to full deployment. ABB has previously installed a similar substation at Boliden AB’s Aitik mine, Sweden's largest open-pit copper mine and is part of ongoing expansion plans at the site. This included a 4.8 megawatt rectifier, connected to the ABB Ability^™ System 800xA DCS.

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com

Process Automation: ABB’s Process Automation business is a leader in automation, electrification and digitalization for the process and hybrid industries. We serve our customers with a broad portfolio of products, systems, and end-to-end solutions, including our #1 distributed control system, software, and lifecycle services, industry-specific products as well as measurement and analytics, marine and turbocharging offerings. As the global #2 in the market, we build on our deep domain expertise, diverse team and global footprint, and are dedicated to helping our customers increase competitiveness, improve their return on investment and run safe, smart, and sustainable operations.

Leading product design experts recognize ABB’s GoFa™ collaborative robot for innovative design to make robots more approachable

ABB’s GoFa cobot was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Best of the Best design award in recognition of its unique design concept to make the new robot appealing and accessible to users.

The global Red Dot Design Awards recognize achievements in product design, with the jury assessing thousands of entries every year.  Red Dot’s “Best of the Best” award is for groundbreaking design and is the highest award in the competition, reserved for the most aesthetically appealing, functional, smart or innovative design.

GoFa is the fastest cobot in its class and is intended to work side-by-side with humans, without the need for fences, on a wide range of tasks. Advanced safety features, including intelligent sensors in each joint which bring the cobot to a stop in milliseconds if it senses any unexpected contact, allow GoFa to safely operate directly and continuously alongside workers.

The brief for the product designers was to create an intuitive, user-friendly, approachable design to encourage people, and particularly first-time users, to confidently use and interact with GoFa.

“Making robots more approachable, easier to use and more intuitive is key to our vision to make robots as familiar in the workplace as a laptop is today,” said Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation Business Area. “I am delighted that our new cobot GoFa has been recognized by the Red Dot jury for how user-friendly it is. GoFa is a game-changer, reinforcing the importance of good industrial design to make it easier for more people to work with robots. Creating an approachable design will ensure robots are adopted across a range of workplaces outside traditional factory environments, helping us to unlock automation for new users and new industries around the world.”

GoFa’s design is a departure from the look of traditional industrial robots, narrowing the boundaries between industrial and consumer products. It employs slim, straight arms that give the cobot a user-friendly yet strong appearance, while the advanced use of color, material and finish gives GoFa a modern, sleek look. Its simple arm-side interface design with two buttons and light ring echoes the easy-to-use interfaces of consumer products. This makes it accessible even for first-time robot users more accustomed to consumer technology and who may be unfamiliar with industrial machinery.

“Industrial design is not just about the aesthetic! Form follows function, and our emphasis on human-centric design, using the approach of a consumer product means GoFa communicates the proposition of usability, utility and ease of use,” said Andie Zhang, Global Product Manager, Collaborative Robotics for ABB Robotics. “Creating an attractive, approachable design allows people to get the best out of their cobots. We not only want people to feel comfortable working alongside it, we want users to enjoy working with the robot. GoFa is programmed by touching the robot’s arm and leading it, so it’s important that users are comfortable with holding and guiding the cobot as they teach it.”

ABB’s cobots are intuitively designed so customers need not rely on robot programming specialists. This will help industries that have low levels of automation, with customers able to operate their cobot within minutes of installation, straight out of the box, with no specialized training.

“With their ease-of-use digital tools, integrated safety features and higher payloads, our new cobots represent the future of human and robot collaboration. This next generation will enable even more businesses to automate repetitive, mundane and dangerous processes, to enhance productivity and flexibility while leaving employees free to do more value-add activities,” added Andie Zhang. “If you can use a tablet or smartphone, you can work with our cobots.”

The launch of ABB’s new GoFa cobot builds on the success of ABB’s YuMi® family, which has been helping businesses safely automate key tasks since YuMi launched in 2015. The design concept of YuMi, the world’s first truly collaborative robot, also won the Best of the Best Red Dot award in 2011.

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 110,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com   

ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation is a pioneer in robotics, machine automation and digital services, providing innovative solutions for a diverse range of industries, from automotive to electronics to logistics. As one of the world’s leading robotics and machine automation suppliers, we have shipped over 400,000 robot solutions. We help our customers of all sizes to increase productivity, flexibility and simplicity and to improve output quality. We support their transition towards the connected and collaborative factory of the future. ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation employs more than 10,000 people at over 100 locations in more than 53 countries. www.abb.com/robotics

Building upon the current IE4 Super Premium Efficiency standard, ABB’s innovative IE5 SynRM² technology will reduce energy losses by an additional 20 percent. This new motor technology, presented at the Hannover Fair 2014 in Germany, sees ABB taking motor efficiency to the next level, a new ultra-premium efficiency, IE5.

The SynRM² is an upgrade of ABB’s award-winning SynRM (synchronous reluctance) motor technology launched in 2011. It strengthens ABB’s motors and drives technology portfolio particularly in markets where customers require the highest efficiency.

A feature of ABB’s latest SynRM² motors is that they do not utilise rare earth permanent magnets. Instead they use ferrite magnets, which are more cost effective and easily available. This results in more economically and ecologically sustainable products.

The largest business potential for the new motors is in the 1-15 kW output range, and among OEM customers who require motor and drive packages which can be flexibly configured for optimum performance in a variety of specific application needs.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 150,000 people.

Layla Hewitt
ABB Limited
Discrete Automation & Motion
Tel: 01925 741 111
Fax: 01925 741 212
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Web: www.abb.co.uk/energy