Heavy Electrified Road transport for iron ore in the Arctic (HERA)

Research Project, 2023 – 2027

Kaunis Irons ambition is to operate fossil-free mining. The transition of the truck-based section of the transport system towards emission free transports is important to achieve. Currently, a truck loaded with iron ore concentrate leaves Kaunisvaara every 15 minutes towards Pitkäjärvi. These transports generate 15 000 tonnes of CO2-emissions annually. The purpose of the project to develop and test a concept of an electrically powered trucking fleet for mining road transport including chassis, load carrier and charging station, in an exploratory manner. The project consortium will prepare for, operate, and evaluate a logistics system with battery electric prototype vehicles with a high-power charging infrastructure as well as perform analyses of the system and its components such as battery degradation, system design and cost analysis. If the outcome is positive, Kaunis Iron will replace its fleet as soon as possible while the results will be relevant for similar truck applications.