Wärtsilä will supply a 9.2 MW / 8.7MWh energy storage system to Zenith Energy, an Independent Power Producer in Australia. Zenith sells the electrical power it produces to some of the world's largest mining companies with operations in Australia.

This article explores the history of solid-state batteries and looks ahead at regional development, sharing some of the research from the new IDTechEx report, "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2021-2031: Technology, Forecasts, Players".

Thursday 26 August 2021 - Why is even seasonal storage a new requirement? How is it that storage by compressed air, gravity and other non-battery options closely leverage mine assets for greater safety and viability? Why does next generation solar fit so well in mines? and more.

Imagine mines with so much electricity production and storage that they do far more downstream processing. As reserves deplete, many will even transition to being zero-emission power stations and electricity storage for local communities and industry or even national grids. The cost of making-good becomes income from reinvention. That is the untold story of mining electrification, beyond the vital safety, greening, and cost reduction of electrics.

Working together to rapidly innovate in support of carbon reduction targets, Komatsu and several of its customers have formed the Komatsu Greenhouse Gas Alliance. The founding members of the alliance are Rio Tinto, BHP, Codelco and Boliden.

Robotics and semi-autonomous equipment are taking humans out of mines, reducing costs and risk.

Construction, agriculture and mining are progressing towards 100% electrics from off-grid zero emission electricity production on site, with mining sites and farm desalination particularly power hungry up to 100MW levels.

Over the last decade, wind energy prices have fallen 70% and solar photovoltaics have fallen 89% on average, with the cost of renewables continuing to trend downwards.

The amount of capital expenditure spent by mining companies is estimated by various organisations.

Mining investment and income tends to move in its own long cycle, the last one being about eight years.

Mining spans from about 1500 large mines for metal, metal-bearing material, diamonds and coal extraction down to tens of thousands of smaller sites such as gravel pits and marble quarries.

A more value-added approach to repurposing redundant fossil fuel assets such as coal mines and power stations is available.

When fully operational, the Western Green Energy Hub could produce up to 50 gigawatts of hybrid wind and solar power over 15,000-square-kilometres in South-East Western Australia.

Several companies have initiated a "Responsible Lithium Partnership" aiming to work towards responsible natural resource management, including lithium, in Chile's Salar de Atacama.

The Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) has been the first redox flow battery to be commercialized and to bring light to the flow battery technology. In the latest update of the IDTechEx report, "Redox Flow Batteries 2021-2031", a substantial forward-looking approach has been assumed in forecasting the trend of adoption of this technology, with a multi-billion market size in 2031.

Aggreko, has partnered with R&A to deliver a renewable power solution at the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. The hybrid system will reduce carbon emissions by up to 40% compared to the previously used fossil fuelled systems.

Researchers have introduced an autonomous excavator system that can perform material loading tasks for a long duration without any human intervention while offering performance closely equivalent to that of an experienced human operator.

Rio Tinto will deploy the world's first fully autonomous water trucks at its $2.6 billion Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in Western Australia's Pilbara region. The new vehicles, primarily used for dust suppression on site, will enhance productivity by enabling mine operations to digitally track water consumption and reduce waste.

With an increasing number of players working in this field and some milestones being achieved, the solid-state battery market is expected to grow to $ 8 billion by 2031, according to IDTechEx's new report "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2021-2031: Technology, Forecasts, Players".