Nearly 400 HummingbirdEV Electric Mining Vehicles now in Operation
HummingbirdEV, a global provider of advanced commercial vehicle electrification systems, announced today that 393 explosion-proof electric mining vehicles powered by its next-generation electric vehicle (EV) technologies under a licensing agreement with Keshi Group, the leading manufacturer and marketer of coal mining auxiliary transport technology and equipment, are currently in operation in various underground mines across China.
This deployment milestone is the culmination of a seven-year partnership between HummingbirdEV and Keshi Group to build, certify, and deploy the first electric mining vehicles.
The first-of-their-kind electric mining vehicles have a payload capacity ranging between 16,000lbs to 30,000 lbs. They include HummingbirdEV’s 400v and 800v vehicle system integration platforms, vehicle management unit, battery management system, charging systems, bi-directional inverters, and battery systems accommodating up to 5C charging rates. The hardware parts have completed explosion-proof and safety standard certifications that are required for auxiliary transportation in coal mines.
HummingbirdEV’s vertically integrated, software driven, and modular systems enabled Keshi Group to quickly adopt the technologies for different vehicle platforms. The type of vehicles ranges from inspection and command vehicles to passenger and material-hauling trucks, and more. The adaptability of HummingbirdEV’s systems also enabled Keshi Group to reliably manufacture vehicles on the same production lines at a fast pace and competitive cost. Mass production of explosion-proof electric mining vehicles began in 2019.
“We greatly appreciate Keshi Group’s support as an early-stage customer and investor—they played a pivotal role in the founding of our company and its success to date,” said Rakesh Koneru, co-founder and CEO of HummingbirdEV. “Today’s deployment milestone in collaboration with an industry leader such as Keshi Group provides the market with confidence in our technology. We’ve proven that our robust systems can quickly adapt to one of the most stringent and hardest environments to create an explosion-proof electric mining vehicle that meets industry standards.”
HummingbirdEV’s technologies are enabling Keshi Group to make coal mine auxiliary transportation more efficient and environmentally friendly. Keshi Group forecasts that it will produce a total of 1,920 electric mining vehicles by 2033, offsetting 24,493,800 liters of diesel and 61,725 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
“We are more than pleased with the performance of HummingbirdEV’s technology as a customer and we are excited about the company’s growth into additional industries under its highly experienced leadership team as an early investor,” said Hanjun Jiang, President of Keshi Group. “Over our seven-year history with HummingbirdEV, they have proved their technological capabilities and have helped us rapidly expand our market share. We will continue to work with HummingbirdEV to provide modern and innovative solutions for coal mine auxiliary transportation.”
HummingbirdEV is focused on strategically accelerating the mass commercialization of its climate-friendly technologies to deliver on customer commitments. HummingbirdEV has secured $5 million in initial funding for its Series A investment round in the form of convertible financing from Keshi Group. HummingbirdEV is seeking additional investors to include in the round for up to $15 million, which is targeted to close in Q1 2024.
