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Comment by hasdf | Hacker News Reader

I didn't downvote but it doesn't seem like a stretch to imagine that industrial mining vehicles will go electric in the near future.

Tires are definitely an issue but producing gas involves a lot of trucks as well. Between all the work in oil pumping/refining/distribution there must be quite a bit of rubber burnt!

Edit - I think the tire issue definitely needs to be solved, but theres no reason it has to keep us using gas vehicles over electric

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It's not remotely a stretch. The biggest mining machines in the world (open pit coal shovels in Europe) are already electric and have been for ages. In the rest of the mining industry most big manufacturers like CAT and Sandvik are releasing battery powered scoops, haul-trucks, etc. It's on its way but industrial adoption will surely follow consumer adoption. We do need better batteries, faster charging, and more experience before they can take over, but thankfully that consumer demand is paving the way (i.e. paying for the research).

> I didn't downvote but it doesn't seem like a stretch to imagine that industrial mining vehicles will go electric in the near future.

Ah, I may have miscommunicated my concern, which is that the resources involved/required in the acquisition, sequestration, production, and recycling of batteries may ultimately be more damaging than conventional fuels [in the long run]. It is possible that I am wrong, however, it remains a personal point of concern.

this video compares co2 emissions of a tesla vs hybrid vs regular ice car. I think it is an interesting exploration of the topic although I think the presenter had a hard time getting correct data and his data on the EV is more conservative than Tesla's numbers.

I would definitely be interested in exploring this further. It seems probable to me that we won't have a better grasp on this for years yet as EVs are still pretty new and not widely adopted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEqxaH47DTs

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