China deploys world's first fleet of 100 autonomous electric mining trucksworld's first fleet of 100 autonomous electric mining trucks in Inner Mongolia
China Huaneng Group launched 100 driverless, all-electric Huaneng Ruichi mining trucks at the Yimin open-pit coal mine in Inner Mongolia in May 2025, powered by Huawei's 5G-Advanced network and AI systems. The fleet operates continuously in extreme conditions including minus 40-degree temperatures, with advanced perception systems providing 360-degree vision and autonomous battery-swapping capabilities that achieve over 98% operational success.
The deployment represents a major shift in mining automation and safety, with the autonomous trucks achieving 120% of human driver productivity by 2024 after years of development beginning in 2020. The vehicles can withstand harsh environments, detect road conditions autonomously, and alert maintenance crews—marking what industry officials describe as a breakthrough in autonomous electric mining technology.
- Inner Mongolia's extreme cold climate, reaching minus 40°C, historically challenged traditional mining operations and worker safety for decades.
- Huaneng Group operates across coal, hydro, nuclear, and wind energy, making this autonomous fleet part of a broader energy transition strategy.
- Battery-swapping technology eliminates charging downtime; five-minute swaps allow continuous 24-hour mining operations impossible with conventional charging.
