China has delivered the world’s first fully electric mining truck powered by a sodium-ion battery. The truck was jointly developed by Hina Battery and Tonly Heavy Industry and is designed for heavy-duty mining work. It aims to show that sodium-ion batteries can power large industrial vehicles while offering fast charging and a long battery life.
According to Hina Battery, the truck is built on Tonly Heavy Industry’s TLE120 mining truck platform. It uses the company’s Haixing sodium-ion battery system with a total capacity of 676 kWh. The project marks the first commercial delivery of a sodium-ion battery-powered mining truck.
Mining trucks carry heavy loads over short distances and need batteries that can charge quickly and last through frequent use. Hina Battery says the new battery can recharge from 0% to 100% in 20–25 minutes and supports more than 8,000 charging cycles, matching the expected service life of the truck.
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The battery cells have an energy density of 165 Wh/kg, which is lower than many lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Even so, the battery is designed to provide enough power for demanding mining operations. After delivery, the truck will begin real mining work so engineers can collect performance data and improve future versions. According to Hina Battery, this testing will help refine the technology.
The new truck could reduce the mining industry’s dependence on lithium-based batteries. Sodium is more widely available and can lower material costs in the future. The technology may also improve battery supply for large industrial vehicles if production scales up.The main limitation is energy density.
The sodium-ion battery stores less energy than an LFP battery of similar size. For comparison, Tonly Heavy Industry’s earlier TLE120 electric mining truck used an 801 kWh LFP battery, while the new sodium-ion version has 676 kWh. This lower energy storage is one reason sodium-ion batteries are not yet widely used in passenger electric vehicles.
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This launch is an important step for sodium-ion battery technology. While the batteries still need further improvements, the successful deployment in a mining truck shows they can already meet the needs of some heavy industrial applications. If performance continues to improve, sodium-ion batteries could become another option for commercial electric vehicles.
