Pivot Electric Machines’ vision is to retrofit the world’s existing fleets of diesel mining trucks –some 46,000 vehicles over 100 tons – with next-generation battery systems, slashing both greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs in the process.
“About three years ago, I had a ‘Road to Damascus’ moment,” Michael Collins, CEO and co-founder of Pivot Electric Machines, said, recalling his decision to pivot from a storied career in geology and traditional mining to the frontier of electrification.
“I realized what I was doing wasn’t meaningful or relevant to the world we live in today. The technology was finally there to make electric mining equipment not just viable, but more profitable than diesel.”
Consider a typical 231-ton truck in the United States or Canada. Annual diesel fuel costs are roughly $1.6 million. Switch to electricity, and that figure plummets to about $400,000 – a 75% reduction. Even after factoring in the amortized cost of a battery pack (spread over seven years), the numbers are hard to ignore.
“Our best-developed business case shows a 22% internal rate of return (IRR) on the investment. That’s a significant margin in mining, where companies will chase single-digit improvements in efficiency,” Collins said.
The retrofit itself isn’t cheap – about $4.5 million per truck, compared to $7 million for a new electric model – but the payback period is under two years, and the process aligns with the industry’s standard seven-year rebuild cycle, minimizing operational disruption.
“Mobile equipment accounts for 30% of a mine’s carbon footprint, and even more when you factor in ventilation and air heating,” Collins noted. “Retrofitting just one truck is a massive lever for decarbonization.”
Pivot’s proprietary battery systems – developed in partnership with Prairie Machine, a co-founding shareholder – are engineered for the brutal realities of mining: extreme temperatures, dust, vibration, and 24/7 operation. Each conversion integrates a 764-kWh battery pack, a robust 1,800-kW traction motor, and a fixed-ratio gearbox, all optimized for reliability and fast charging.
A pending $25 million contract for five trucks hinges on the successful demonstration of Pivot’s first commercial conversion, expected to be deployed in Q3 2026. Discussions are underway with multiple mining companies, said Pivot, some operating fleets of over 100 trucks per site.