System, control unit and method for controlling energy transfer

Abstract

An energy transfer control system is provided. The energy transfer control system comprises: - one or more mining and / or construction machines operating at a mining and / or construction site, - one or more mobile energy storages for providing energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines, and - a control unit for controlling energy transfer at the mining and / or construction site, wherein the energy transfer is controlled on the basis of a respective set of parameters related to each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines and the one or more mobile energy storages, and wherein a mobile energy storage moves to a location of a mining and / or construction machine to provide energy to the mining and / or construction machine.

Description

[0001] SYSTEM, CONTROL UNIT AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ENERGY TRANSFER.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments herein relate to a method, system and an arrangement for controlling energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In mining and construction, there is a constant ongoing process of improving efficiency, productivity and safety. Examples of changes and / or improvements that are carried out to an increasing extent, especially in mining, is the automation, fully or partly, of various processes occurring in mining. Methods for localization, mapping, control and motion planning have enabled development and deployment of fully or partly autonomous vehicles and / or mobile machines, hereinafter denoted as machines. Further, a transition to electrically powered machines is ongoing. This is an important step to reduce emissions of e.g., carbon dioxide. Further, with electrically powered machines, exhaust fumes decrease in the mines and tunnels. This may lead to an improved work environment and lower ventilation requirements.

[0006] Electrically powered machines introduce new requirements for charging infrastructure and electrical capacity. Thus electrical energy needs to be transferred to the machines.

[0007] Consequently, there is a need for improvements in handling the energy transfer at mining and / or construction machines.

[0008] SUMMARY

[0009] As part of developing embodiments herein a problem has been identified and will first be discussed.

[0010] A problem at mining and / or construction sites relates to energy transfer. More specifically transfer of energy to machines operating at the mining and / or construction site. With the ongoing electrification of machines, there is challenges with providing electricity to the machines. One way to solve this problem would be to connect the machines to an electrical power grid using cables, enabling a stable energy transfer to the machines. A problem with this approach, however, is the risk of damages to the cables e.g., by machines driving over the cables. This would also increase the risk of accidents, such as electric shocks, to people at the mining and / or construction. Another solution would be that when the battery powered machines needs to recharge, they stop any current operation and move to a battery exchange location where the empty battery is changed to a fully charged battery. This, however, introduces stops in the operations at the mining and / or construction site, which results in a reduced operation efficiency.

[0011] An object of embodiments herein is to provide a mechanism that improves the control of energy transfer and increases the operational efficiency at a mining and / or construction site. The object is achieved by the independent claims.

[0012] According to a first aspect, an energy transfer control system is provided, the energy transfer control system comprises:

[0013] - One or more mining and / or construction machines operating at a mining and / or construction site,

[0014] - one or more mobile energy storages for providing energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines, and

[0015] - a control unit for controlling energy transfer at the mining and / or construction site. The energy transfer is controlled on the basis of a respective set of parameters related to each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines and one or more mobile energy storages. A mobile energy storage moves to a location of a mining and / or construction machine to provide energy to the mining and / or construction machine.

[0016] According to some exemplary embodiments, a set of parameters related to a mining and / or construction machine may comprise any one or more out of:

[0017] - A State of Charge (SoC) of an energy storage of the mining and / or construction machine,

[0018] - a current energy consumption of the mining and / or construction machine,

[0019] - a predicted future energy consumption of the mining and / or construction,

[0020] - a current rate of energy transfer to the mining and / or construction machine, and

[0021] - a location of the mining and / or construction machine.

[0022] According to some exemplary embodiments, a set of parameters related to a mobile energy storage may comprise any one or more of:

[0023] - A SoC level of the mobile energy storage, - a current rate of energy transfer to or from the mobile energy storage, and

[0024] - a location of the energy storage.

[0025] According to some exemplary embodiments, the energy transfer plan may be based on the respective set of parameters. The control unit may obtain the respective set of parameters from the one or more mining and / or construction machines and / or the one or more mobile energy storages.

[0026] According to some exemplary embodiments, the control unit may control the energy transfer by allocating one or more mobile energy storages to perform a first action based on the energy transfer plan.

[0027] According to some exemplary embodiments, the first action may comprise any on out of:

[0028] - Transfer energy to a mining and / or construction machine, or

[0029] - recharge at a central energy transfer point at the mining and / or construction site.

[0030] According to some exemplary embodiments, the control unit may update the energy transfer plan based on the respective set of parameters. To update the energy transfer plan may comprise for each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines: determine at least one of a start time for the energy transfer to the mining and / or construction machines, a duration of the energy transfer, and a rate of energy transfer, and allocate one or more mobile energy storages to transfer energy to the mining and / or construction machine at the determined time.

[0031] According to some exemplary embodiments, the energy may be wirelessly transferred from a mobile energy storage to a mining and / or construction machine.

[0032] According to some exemplary embodiments, wirelessly transferring energy comprises any one or more out of:

[0033] - Near field energy transfer,

[0034] - far field transfer,

[0035] According to some exemplary embodiments, the energy transfer control system may further comprise an energy generation arrangement for generating electrical energy. The generated electrical energy may be transferred to the one or more mining and / or construction machines using the one or more mobile energy storages.

[0036] According to some exemplary embodiments, the generation of electrical energy by the energy generation arrangement further generates waste-water. The waste-water may be recycled to be used by the one or more mining and / or construction machines. According to some exemplary embodiments, the generation of electrical energy by the energy generation arrangement may further generate waste-heat, and wherein the waste-heat is recycled.

[0037] According to some exemplary embodiments, the recycled waste-heat may be used for any one or more out of:

[0038] - heating the one or more mining and / or construction machines, and

[0039] - district heating.

[0040] According to a second aspect, a method for controlling energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site is provided. One or more mobile energy storages are configured to provide energy to one or more mining and / or construction machines operating at the mining and / or construction site.

[0041] For each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines and the one or more mobile energy storages, a respective set of parameters is obtained.

[0042] The energy transfer is controlled by allocating one or more mobile energy storages to perform a respective first action related to transfer energy at the mining and / or construction site. The respective first action is based at least partly on the respective set of parameters.

[0043] According to a third aspect, a control unit configured to control energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site is provided. One or more mobile energy storages are configured to provide energy to one or more mining and / or construction machines operating at the mining and / or construction site.

[0044] For each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines and the one or more mobile energy storages, the control unit obtains a respective set of parameters.

[0045] The control unit controls the energy transfer by allocating one or more mobile energy storages to perform a respective first action related to transfer energy at the mining and / or construction site. The respective first action is adapted to be based at least partly on the respective set of parameters.

[0046] Embodiments herein may bring the advantage of improved control of energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site. This may be achieved by, as mentioned above, controlling the energy transfer based on a respective set of related to one or more mining and / or construction machines and one or more mobile energy storages. The one or more mobile energy storages moves the location of the one or more mining and / or construction machines to provide, such as transfer, energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines. Further, embodiments herein may bring the advantage of an improved operational efficiency. This since energy is provided, such as transferred, to the mining and / or construction machines without the need to stop ongoing operations.

[0047] BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS

[0048] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to attached drawings in which:

[0049] Figure 1 shows a system according to embodiments herein.

[0050] Figures 2a-c disclose examples of an mining and / or construction site according to embodiments herein.

[0051] Figure 3 shows a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method according to embodiments herein.

[0052] Figures 4a to 4b shows schematic block diagrams illustrating embodiments of a central unit.

[0053] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] An object of embodiments herein is to provide a mechanism that improves the control of energy transfer and increases the operational efficiency at a mining and / or construction site.

[0055] Embodiments herein may bring the advantage of improved control of energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site. This may be achieved by, as mentioned above, controlling the energy transfer based on a respective set of related to one or more mining and / or construction machines and one or more mobile energy storages. The one or more mobile energy storages moves the location of the one or more mining and / or construction machines to provide, such as transfer, energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines. Further, embodiments herein may bring the advantage of an improved operational efficiency. This since energy is provided, such as transferred, to the mining and / or construction machines without the need to stop ongoing operations.

[0056] Fig. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a system 100 according to examples of embodiments herein. The system 100 comprises one or more mining and / or construction machines 110, one or more mobile energy storages 120 and a control unit 130. The one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 operates at a mining and / or construction site 101 (not shown). The one or more mobile energy storages 120 are configured to provide energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110. The control unit 105 is configured to control energy transfer at the mining and / or construction machine 101. The energy transfer is controlled on the basis of a respective set of parameters related to each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 and the one or more mobile energy storages 120. A mobile energy storage 120 moves to a location of a mining and / or construction machine 110 to provide energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110. The energy may e.g., comprise electrical energy. Each mining and / or construction machine 110 may comprises an energy storage, such as a battery or any other arrangement for storing energy.. Providing, such as e.g., transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110 may comprise transfer energy from a mobile energy storage 120 to the energy storage comprised in the mining and / or construction machine 110. In other words, providing energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110 may mean that the mobile energy storage 120 charges the mining and / or construction machine 110, such as e.g., charging the energy storage of the mining and / or construction machine 110.

[0057] The control unit 130 may be located at the mining and / or construction site 101, alternatively, the control unit 130 may be located remotely, such as at a remote server or cloud system.

[0058] The energy may be wirelessly transferred from a mobile energy storage 120 to a mining and / or construction machine 110. In other words, transferring the energy may comprise transferring the energy wirelessly, such as without a physical connection between the mobile energy storage 120 and the mining and / or construction machine 110. To wirelessly transfer energy may comprise a near field energy transfer and / or a far field energy transfer. Near field energy transfer may e.g., comprise an inductive coupling, a capacitive coupling, an electrodynamic coupling, and / or a magnetodynamic coupling, the coupling being between the mobile energy storage 120 and the mining and / or construction machine 120. Far field energy transfer may e.g., comprise microwaves and / or light waves. Near-field energy transfer may also be referred to as nonradiative energy transfer. Far-field energy transfer may also be referred to radiative energy transfer. Near-field energy transfer when used herein may e.g., mean that a between an antenna or coupling device transmitting energy and an antenna or coupling device receiving the energy is below a threshold determined by the size of the antenna or coupling device transmitting and / or receiving the energy. The threshold distance may e.g., be any distance up to 10 times the size of the antenna or coupling device. Far-field energy transfer when used herein may e.g., mean that wireless energy transfer is possible also when the distance between the antenna or coupling device transmitting energy and the antenna or coupling device receiving the energy, exceeds the threshold distance of nearfield energy transfer.

[0059] Using an inductive coupling to wirelessly transfer energy may comprise transferring the energy via magnetic fields using wire coil comprised in the mobile energy storage 120 and the mining and / or construction machine 120. Thus, when using inductive coupling energy transfer, the mobile energy storage 120 and the mining and / or construction machine 110 each comprises a respective antenna or coupling device for transmitting and / or receiving energy. The respective antenna or coupling device each comprises a wire coil, that when coupled together forms a transformer through which the energy is transferred from the mobile mining machine 120, which comprises the transmitting antenna or coupling device, to the mining and / or construction machine 110, comprising the receiving antenna or coupling device. The transferred energy may e.g., be used to directly power one or more electric motors or other systems in the mining and / or construction machine 110. Alternatively, or additionally, the transferred energy, such as the induced alternating current, may e.g., be used to recharge an energy storage, such as e.g., one or more batteries and / or capacitors, thus storing the transferred energy. The stored energy may then be used to power one or more electric motors or other systems in the mining and / or construction machine 110. Inductive coupling may also comprise resonant inductive coupling, which is a variant of inductive coupling where the antenna or coupling device of the receiver, and in some examples also the transmitter, comprises a self-resonant wire coil or, a wire coil connected to a capacitor, or another form of resonator with an internal capacitance.

[0060] Using a capacitive coupling to wirelessly transfer energy may comprise transferring the energy via electric fields using metal electrodes comprised in the mobile energy storage 120 and the mining and / or construction machine 120. Thus, when using capacitive coupling energy transfer, the mobile energy storage 120 and the mining and / or construction machine 110 each comprises a respective antenna or coupling device for transmitting and / or receiving energy. The respective antenna or coupling device each comprises an electrode, e.g., a metal plate, that when coupled together forms a capacitor through which the energy is transferred from the mobile mining machine 120, which comprises the transmitting antenna or coupling device, to the mining and / or construction machine 110, comprising the receiving antenna or coupling device. The transferred energy may e.g., be used to directly power one or more electric motors or other systems in the mining and / or construction machine 110. Alternatively, or additionally, the transferred energy, such as the induced alternating current, may e.g., be used to recharge an energy storage, such as e.g., one or more batteries and / or capacitors, thus storing the transferred energy. The stored energy may then be used to power one or more electric motors or other systems in the mining and / or construction machine 110.

[0061] An electrodynamic coupling to wirelessly transfer energy may comprise transferring the energy via time-varying magnetic fields. The receiving antenna or coupling device may comprise a mechanically resonating or rotating permanent magnet that, when subjected to the time-varying magnetic field generated by the transmitting antenna or coupling device, creates a mechanical motion of the magnet that is converted into electrical energy.

[0062] A magnetodynamic coupling to wirelessly transfer energy may comprise that both the transmitting and the receiving antenna or coupling device comprises a respective rotating device coupled by a magnetic field generated by a respective permanent magnet of the respective rotating device. The rotating device in the transmitting antenna or coupling device may be rotated by an electric motor, or as a rotor of the electric motor. The rotating device in the receiving antenna or coupling device may be rotated by the magnetic field of the rotating device in the transmitting antenna or coupling device, the magnetic field exerting a torque that rotates the rotating device in the receiving antenna or coupling device. By the rotation of the rotating device of the receiving antenna or coupling device, electricity, such as electrical energy is generated. This by the rotating device of the receiving antenna or coupling device being connected to a generator, or by said rotating device being the rotor of the generator. Thus, energy is wirelessly transferred from a transmitter, e.g., the mobile energy storage 120, to a receiver, such as the mining and / or construction machine 110.

[0063] Far-field wireless energy transfer may comprise transferring energy by electromagnetic radiation, e.g., by microwaves and / or lightwaves.

[0064] A transmitter for microwave wireless energy transfer may e.g., comprise a high- directivity microwave antenna transmitting a narrow high-power microwave beam. The beam is transmitted with high directivity, meaning that most of its energy is transmitted in one direction. A receiver for microwave energy transfer may e.g., comprise a rectifying antenna, also referred to as a rectenna. The rectenna converts the received microwaves into electricity, i.e. , electrical energy. Thus, a mobile energy storage 120 may comprise an antenna as described above for transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110, where the mining and / or construction machine 110 may comprise a rectenna as described above.

[0065] For transferring energy using light waves, a transmitter of energy may e.g., comprise a laser. The lightwaves transmitted by the laser may be received by a photovoltaic cell, where the light waves are converted into electricity, i.e., electrical energy. Thus, a mobile energy storage 120 may comprise a laser for transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110, where the mining and / or construction machine 110 may comprise a photovoltaic for converting the lightwaves to electrical energy.

[0066] The above examples of wireless energy transfer were described in view of transferring energy from a mobile energy storage 120 to a mining and / or construction machine 110, where the mobile energy mobile storage 120 comprises a transmitting antenna or coupling device and the mining and / or construction machine 110 comprises a receiving antenna or coupling device 110. According to embodiments herein, the roles may be reversed meaning that the mining and / or construction machine 110 transfers energy to the mobile energy storage 120. In this case, the mining and / or construction machine 110 comprises a transmitting antenna or coupling device and the mobile energy storage 120 comprises a receiving antenna. It may also be the case that the mobile energy storage 120 and the mining and / or construction machine 110 each comprises both a transmitting antenna or coupling device and a receiving antenna or coupling device, or even that an antenna or coupling device may act both as a receiver of energy and transmitter of energy. In some examples, a mining and / or construction machine 110 may act as a mobile energy storage, and thus provide, e.g., wirelessly, energy to another mining and / or construction machine 110.

[0067] The set of parameters related to a mining and / or construction machine 110 may e.g., comprise one or more out of a SoC level of an energy storage of the mining and / or construction machine 110, a current energy consumption of the mining and / or construction machine 110, a predicted future energy consumption of the mining and / or construction 110, a current rate of energy transfer to the mining and / or construction machine 110, and a location of the mining and / or construction machine.

[0068] The SoC level of the energy storage may mean the level of charge of the energy storage, such as the amount of energy remaining in the energy storage, e.g., expressed as kilowatt hours (kWh).

[0069] The current energy consumption may mean the amount energy currently consumed by the mining and / or construction machine 110. E.g., the current energy consumption may comprise the current power output from an energy storage and / or electric motor on the mining and / or construction machine 110, and e.g., expressed as kilowatts (kW). Alternatively, the current energy consumption may comprise a predicted amount of energy consumed by the mining and / or construction machine 110 during a current time period, and e.g., expressed as kWh.

[0070] The predicted future energy consumption may e.g., mean the energy predicted to be consumed during a future time period and may be expressed as kWh. In some examples, the parameter related to the predicted future energy consumption may comprise predicted future energy consumption for one or more future time periods. A future time period may be a time period occurring after the current time period.

[0071] The location of the mining and / or construction machine 110 may e.g., comprise satellite based positioning, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), coordinates and / or a sector of a map of the mining and / or construction site 101. GPS is merely mentioned as an example of a satellite based positioning system and should be seen as limiting. Other satellite based positioning systems, such as e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo and BeiDou, are also possible to use.

[0072] The set of parameters related to a mobile energy storage 120 may e.g., comprise one or more out of a SoC level of the mobile energy storage 120, a current rate of energy transfer to or from the mobile energy storage 120, and a location of the energy storage 120.

[0073] The SoC level of the mobile energy storage may mean the level of charge of the mobile energy storage, such as the amount of energy remaining in the mobile energy storage, e.g., expressed as kWh.

[0074] The current rate of energy transfer may mean the current power output from, or input to, the mobile energy storage 120, and e.g., expressed as kW. Alternatively, the current rate of energy transfer may mean a predicted amount of energy transferred to or from the mobile energy storage 120 during a current time period, and e.g., expressed in kWh.

[0075] The location of the mobile energy storage 120 may e.g., comprise satellite based positioning, such as GPS, coordinates and / or a sector of a map of the mining and / or construction site 101.

[0076] According to some examples of embodiments herein, an energy transfer plan is used as a basis for controlling the energy transfer. In such examples, the control unit 130 may control the energy transfer based on the energy transfer plan. The energy transfer plan may then be, at least partly, based on the respective set of parameters. The control unit 130 may obtain the respective set of parameters from the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 and / or the one or more mobile energy storages 120.

[0077] According to some examples of embodiments herein, the control unit 130 may control the energy transfer by allocating one or more mobile energy storages 120 to perform a respective first action based on the energy transfer plan. The respective first actions to be performed by the one or more mobile energy storages 120, may not be the same for each of the one or more mobile energy storages 120. The respective first action may e.g., comprise transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110, and / or recharge at a central energy transfer point 103 at the mining and / or construction site 101. Thus, the system may further comprise the central energy transfer point 103. Transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110 may, as mentioned above, comprise moving from a current location of the mobile energy storage 120 to the location of said mining and / or construction machine 110. Recharging at the central energy transfer point 103 may e.g., comprise moving from the current location of the mobile energy storage 120 to the central energy transfer point 103. In some examples, this may further comprise stopping a current action performed by the mobile energy storage 120, such as transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110. Thus, when the mobile energy storage 120 is allocated to perform the first action, this first action may take precedence over any previously received actions. Alternatively, or additionally, the first action may indicate to the mobile energy storage 120 to finish any current action before performing the allocated first action. Alternatively, or additionally, the first action may indicate a time when the first action is to be performed, thus allowing the mobile energy storage 120 to continue performing any current action before performing the allocated first action.

[0078] According to some examples of embodiments herein, the control unit 130 may update the energy transfer plan based on the respective set of parameters, e.g., after obtaining the respective set of parameters. Updating the energy transfer plan may comprise the control unit 130, for each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110, determine at least one of a start time for the energy transfer to the mining and / or construction machines 110, a duration of the energy transfer, and a rate of energy transfer. The control unit 130 may further, e.g., based on the updated energy transfer plan or as part of updating the energy transfer plan, allocate one or more mobile energy storages 120 to transfer energy to the mining and / or construction machine 120 and / or recharge at the central energy transfer point 103 at the determined time.

[0079] Fig. 2a shows an illustration of a mining and / or construction site 101 according to an example of embodiments herein. A number of mining and / or construction machines 110, such as mining and / or constructions machines 110a-d, operates at the mining and / or construction site 101. Further, a number of mobile energy storages 120 for providing energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 operates at the mining and / or construction site 101. In this example, a first mining and / or construction machine 110a is provided with energy from a first mobile energy storage 120a. A second mobile energy storage 120a’ is queueing, waiting for its turn to provide energy to the mining and / or construction machine 110a. A second mining and / or construction machine 110b is provided with energy from a third mobile energy storage 120b. A third mining and / or construction machine 110c operates at the mining and / or construction site 101. The third mining and / or construction machine 110c is not provided with energy from a mobile energy storage 120. A fourth mining and / or construction machine 110d is provided with energy from a fourth mobile energy storage 120d and a fifth mobile energy storage 120d’ simultaneously. Two further mobile energy storages 120 operate at the mining and / or construction site 101. The two further mobile energy storages 120 is currently not providing energy to any mining and / or construction machine 110. Fig. 2a further shows the control unit 130, which controls the energy transfer at the mining and / or construction site 101. As mentioned above, the control unit 130 may be located at the mining and / or construction site 101, alternatively, the control unit 130 may be located remotely, such as at a remote server or cloud system. As mentioned above, the control unit 130 may control the energy transfer by allocating one or more mobile energy storages 120 to perform a respective first action. Thus, in such examples, the respective first action of the first mobile energy storage 120a and the second mobile energy storage 120a’ may comprise transferring energy to the first mining and / or construction machine 110a. further, in such examples, the first action of the third mobile energy storage 120b may comprise transferring energy to the second mining and / or construction machine 110b, the respective first action of the fourth mobile energy storage 120d and fifth mobile energy storage 120d’ may comprise transferring energy to the fourth mining and / or construction machine 110d. further, in such examples, the control unit 130 may not have allocated any respective first action to the two further mobile energy storages 120. Fig. 2b shows an illustration of a mining and / or construction site 101 according to an example of embodiments herein. Fig. 2b shows the example described in relation to Fig. 2a above, and further comprises a central energy transfer point 103. In some examples, the central energy transfer point 103 may e.g., comprise an energy storage 104, such as e.g., a battery, for storing electrical energy. The central energy transfer point 103 may be used for transferring energy to the one or more mobile energy storages 120. E.g., as mentioned above, a mobile energy storage 120 may be allocated to perform a first action, where the first action may comprise recharging at the central energy transfer point 103. Alternatively, or additionally, as mentioned above, the first action may comprise transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110. The allocation to perform the first action may e.g., be performed by the control unit 105.

[0080] Fig. 2c shows an illustration of a mining and / or construction site 101 according to an example of embodiments herein, e.g., as described above in relation to Figs. 2a and 2b. Fig. 2c shows an energy generation arrangement 102. In some examples, the energy generation arrangement 102 may be connected to the central energy transferred point 103, thus providing energy to the central energy transfer point 103. The energy generation rate of the energy generation arrangement 102 may be controlled by the control unit 130. The energy generation arrangement 102 may be collocated with the central energy transfer point 103, or it may be located separately from the central energy transfer point 103. The energy generation arrangement 102 may e.g., be a fuel cell arrangement, generating electrical energy using hydrogen and oxygen. In some examples, the fuel cell is fuel directly by hydrogen. In other examples hydrogen-rich fuels, such as methanol, ethanol, ammonia, and / or other hydrocarbon fuels, are used as fuel to the fuel cell. The hydrogen used for generating electrical energy is then generated by the fuel cell from the hydrogen-rich fuel. When the energy generation arrangement 102 comprises a fuel cell arrangement, the energy generation may further generate waste-water. In some examples, the waste-water may be recycled. E.g., the waste-water may be used by the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 during a mining and / or construction process. As an example, the waste-water my be used by a mining and / or construction machine 110 for heating and / or cooling components. Alternatively, or additionally, the waste-water may be used as a flushing medium for flushing e.g., drill holes. The wastewater may be collected and stored in waste-water storage arrangement 106, such as e.g., a tank, water tower, reservoir, pond and / or dam. Further, the energy generation may further generate waste-heat. In some examples, the waste-heat may be recycled. E.g., the waste heat may be recycled by using the waste-heat for heating the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110, heating the one or more mobile energy storages 120, and / or for district heating. When the used for district heating, the energy generation arrangement 102 is connected to a district heating system e.g., via one or more heat exchangers 107. The energy generation arrangement 102 may further be connected to an external power grid 108. The energy generation arrangement 102 may e.g., provide generated energy, such electrical energy, to the external power grid 108 when more energy is generated than what is used at the mining and / construction site 101 . The recycling of the waste-water, waste-heat and the providing of energy to the external power grid 108 may be controlled by the control unit 130. The control unit 130 may e.g., control the recycling based on the current need of water, heat and / or energy at the mining and / or construction site 101. Any surplus of waste- water, waste-heat or electrical energy may be provided to the external power grid 108, the district heating system, and / or a district water supply system.

[0081] Fig. 3 shows an example embodiment of a method for controlling energy transfer at the mining and / or construction site 101. One or more mining and / or construction machines 110 operates at the mining and / or construction site 101. One or more mobile energy storages 120 operating at the mining and / or construction site 101 are configured to provide energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110. The method may e.g., be performed by the control unit 130. The method comprises the following actions, which may be taken in any suitable order. Optional actions are referred to as dashed boxes in Fig. 3.

[0082] Action 301

[0083] For each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 and the one or more mobile energy storages 120, a respective set of parameters is obtained.

[0084] The set of parameters related to a mining and / or construction machine 110 may e.g., comprise one or more out of a SoC level of an energy storage of the mining and / or construction machine 110, a current energy consumption of the mining and / or construction machine 110, a predicted future energy consumption of the mining and / or construction 110, a current rate of energy transfer to the mining and / or construction machine 110, and a location of the mining and / or construction machine.

[0085] The SoC level of the energy storage may mean the level of charge of the energy storage, such as the amount of energy remaining in the energy storage, e.g., expressed as kWh. The current energy consumption may mean the amount energy currently consumed by the mining and / or construction machine 110. E.g., the current energy consumption may comprise the current power output from an energy storage and / or electric motor on the mining and / or construction machine 110, and e.g., expressed as kW. Alternatively, the current energy consumption may comprise a predicted amount of energy consumed by the mining and / or construction machine 110 during a current time period, and e.g., expressed as kWh.

[0086] The predicted future energy consumption may e.g., mean the energy predicted to be consumed during a future time period and may be expressed as kWh. In some examples, the parameter related to the predicted future energy consumption may comprise predicted future energy consumption for one or more future time periods. A future time period may be a time period occurring after the current time period.

[0087] The location of the mining and / or construction machine 110 may e.g., comprise satellite based positioning, such as GPS, coordinates and / or a sector of a map of the mining and / or construction site 101.

[0088] The set of parameters related to a mobile energy storage 120 may e.g., comprise one or more out of a SoC level of the mobile energy storage 120, a current rate of energy transfer to or from the mobile energy storage 120, and a location of the energy storage 120.

[0089] The SoC level of the mobile energy storage may mean the level of charge of the mobile energy storage, such as the amount of energy remaining in the mobile energy storage, e.g., expressed as kWh.

[0090] The current rate of energy transfer may mean the current power output from, or input to, the mobile energy storage 120, and e.g., expressed as kW. Alternatively, the current rate of energy transfer may mean a predicted amount of energy transferred to or from the mobile energy storage 120 during a current time period, and e.g., expressed in kWh.

[0091] The location of the mobile energy storage 120 may e.g., comprise satellite based positioning, such as GPS, coordinates and / or a sector of a map of the mining and / or construction site 101.

[0092] The respective set of parameters may e.g., be obtained from the respective one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 and the respective one or more mobile energy storages 120. In some examples, one or more of the parameters in the respective sets of parameters may be obtained from a local positioning system at the mining and / or construction site 101. The local positioning system may e.g., comprise cameras, radars and / or radio based positioning. A radio based positioning may e.g., comprise estimating a position based on signal strength measurements. The local positioning system may be a fixed system, a mobile system or a mix of both. A mobile system may e.g., comprise unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also referred to as drones, carrying positioning equipment such as cameras, radars and / or radio transceivers. The respective set of parameters may be obtained by any suitable wired or wireless communication technique, such as e.g., LAN, WLAN, Bluetooth, WIFI, ZigBee and / or cellular communication such as GSM, Edge, WCDMA, LTE, 5G, 6G, etc.

[0093] Action 302

[0094] In some embodiments, an energy transfer plan is generated based on the obtained respective sets of parameters. Generating the energy transfer plan may comprise determining any one or more out of e.g., when, such as a time, to transfer energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110, a duration of an energy transfer to a mining and / or construction machine 110, an amount of energy to transfer to a mining and / or construction machine 110, an energy transfer rate of an energy transfer to a mining and / or construction machine 110, a mobile energy storage 120 to transfer energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110, and a time, duration and / or transfer rate for recharging a mobile energy storage 120.

[0095] The energy transfer plan may be generated to e.g., optimize the productivity

[0096] Action 303

[0097] In some embodiments, a respective first action to be performed by the one or more mobile energy storages 120 is determined. The respective first actions to be performed by the one or more mobile energy storages 120, may not be the same for each of the one or more mobile energy storages 120. The respective first action may e.g., comprise transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110, and / or recharge at the central energy transfer point 103 at the mining and / or construction site 101. Transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110 may, as mentioned above, comprise moving from a current location of the mobile energy storage 120 to the location of said mining and / or construction machine 110. Recharging at the central energy transfer point 103 may e.g., comprise moving from the current location of the mobile energy storage 120 to the central energy transfer point 103. Both providing energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110 and recharging at the central energy transfer point may be performed wirelessly, e.g., in accordance with examples described herein. In some examples, this may further comprise stopping a current action performed by the mobile energy storage 120, such as transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110. Thus, when the mobile energy storage 120 is allocated to perform the first action, this first action may take precedence over any previously received actions. Alternatively, or additionally, the first action may indicate to the mobile energy storage 120 to finish any current action before performing the allocated first action. Alternatively, or additionally, the first action may indicate a time when the first action is to be performed, thus allowing the mobile energy storage 120 to continue performing any current action before performing the allocated first action. The respective first action may be determined based on the respective sets of parameters. Alternatively, or additionally, the respective first action may be determined based on the energy transfer plan. In other words, the respective first action may be explicitly or implicitly determined based on the respective sets of parameters. Implicitly since the energy transfer plan is generated based on the respective sets of parameters.

[0098] Action 304

[0099] To control the energy transfer, one or more mobile energy storages 120 is allocated to perform a first action related to transfer energy at the mining and / or construction site 101. The first action is based at least partly on the respective set of parameters. Allocating the one or more mobile energy storages 120 may comprise sending an instruction to the respective one or more mobile energy storages 120. The instruction may comprise, or indicate, the respective first action. The instruction may be sent to the one or more mobile energy storages 120 by any suitable wired or wireless communication technique, such as e.g., LAN, WLAN, Bluetooth, WIFI, ZigBee and / or cellular communication such as GSM, Edge, WCDMA, LTE, 5G, 6G, etc.

[0100] As mentioned above, the respective first action may comprise transferring energy to a mining and / or construction machine 110, and / or recharge at the central energy transfer point 103 at the mining and / or construction site 101.

[0101] The Actions 301-304 may be repeatedly performed, thus an updated energy transfer plan is always available, which may result in an control of the energy transfer as well as an increased operational efficiency.

[0102] Fig. 4a disclose an example configuration of the control unit 130 configured to control energy transfer at the mining and / or construction site 101. One or more mobile energy storages 120 are configured to provide energy to one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 operating at the mining and / or construction site 101. The control unit 130 may comprise an input and output interface 400 configured to communicate with, e.g., the one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 and the one or more mobile energy storages 120.

[0103] Fig. 4b also discloses an example configuration of processing circuitry for a control unit, e.g., the processing circuitry 450 disclosed in Fig. 4a. The processing circuitry may comprise an obtaining unit 410, a generating unit 420, a determining unit 430 and an allocating unit 440 configured to perform the methods above.

[0104] The embodiments herein may be implemented through the processing circuitry 450 in the control unit 130 depicted in Figure 4a, together with respective computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. The processing circuitry 450 may comprise one or more processors and one or more memory units. The memory units may be the memory 460. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the control unit 130. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc, a USB flash drive, and / or an Over-the-Air (OTA) carrier. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the control unit 130.

[0105] The memory 460 of the control unit 130 may further comprise one or more memory units. The memory 460 is configured to store instructions executable by the processing circuitry 450. The memory 460 is arranged to be used to store e.g. information, messages, indications, configurations, actions, parameters, energy transfer plans, measurements, locations, positions, and applications to perform the methods herein when being executed in executed in the control unit 130.

[0106] The control unit 130 is configured to control energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site 101. One or more mobile energy storages 120 are configured to provide energy to one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 operating at the mining and / or construction site 101.

[0107] For each of one or more mining and / or construction machines 110 and one or more mobile energy storages 120, the control unit 130 obtains a respective set of parameters.

[0108] The control unit 130 controls the energy transfer by allocating one or more mobile energy storages 120 to perform a respective first action related to transfer energy at the mining and / or construction site 101. The respective first action is adapted to be based at least partly on the respective set of parameters. In some embodiments, a computer program 470 comprises instructions, which when executed by the processing circuitry 450, e.g., of the respective at least one processor of the processing circuitry 450, cause the processing circuitry 450 of the control unit 130 to perform the actions above.

[0109] In some embodiments, a respective carrier 480 comprises the respective computer program 470, wherein the carrier 480 is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

[0110] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units in the control unit 130 described above may refer to a combination of analogue and digital circuits, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in the control unit 130, that when executed by the respective one or more processors such as the processors described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuitry (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a system-on-a- chip (SoC).

[0111] It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such, the apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An energy transfer control system (100) comprising: one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) operating at a mining and / or construction site (101), one or more mobile energy storages (120) for providing energy to the one or more mining and / or construction machines (110), a control unit (130) for controlling energy transfer at the mining and / or construction site (101), wherein the energy transfer is controlled on the basis of a respective set of parameters related to each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) and the one or more mobile energy storages (120), and wherein a mobile energy storage (120) moves to a location of a mining and / or construction machine (110) to provide energy to the mining and / or construction machine (110).

2. The energy transfer control system (100) according to claim 1 , wherein a set of parameters related to a mining and / or construction machine (110) comprises any one or more out of: a State of Charge, SoC, level of an energy storage of the mining and / or construction machine (110), a current energy consumption of the mining and / or construction machine (110), a predicted future energy consumption of the mining and / or construction (110), a current rate of energy transfer to the mining and / or construction machine (110), and a location of the mining and / or construction machine (110), and wherein a set of parameters related to a mobile energy storage (120) comprises any one or more of: a SoC level of the mobile energy storage (120), a current rate of energy transfer to or from the mobile energy storage (120), and a location of the energy storage (120).

3. The energy transfer control system (100) according to any of claims 1-2, wherein the control unit (130) controls the energy transfer based on an energy transfer plan,wherein the energy transfer plan is based on the respective set of parameters, and wherein the control unit (130) obtains the respective set of parameters from the one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) and / or the one or more mobile energy storages (120).

4. The energy transfer system (100) according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the control unit (130) controls the energy transfer by allocating one or more mobile energy storages (120) to perform a respective first action based on the energy transfer plan.

5. The energy transfer control system (100) according to claim 4, wherein the respective first action comprises any one out of: transfer energy to a mining and / or construction machine (110), recharge at a central energy transfer point (103) at the mining and / or construction site (101).

6. The energy transfer control system (100) according to any of claims 3-5, wherein the control unit (130) updates the energy transfer plan based on the respective set of parameters, and wherein to update the energy transfer plan comprises for each of the one or more mining and / or construction machines (110): determine at least one of a start time for the energy transfer to the mining and / or construction machines (110), a duration of the energy transfer, and a rate of energy transfer, allocate one or more mobile energy storages (120) to transfer energy to the mining and / or construction machine (120) at the determined time,7. The energy transfer control system (100) according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the energy is wirelessly transferred from a mobile energy storage (120) to a mining and / or construction machine (110).

8. The energy transfer control system (100) according to claim 7, wherein wirelessly transferring energy comprises any one or more out of: near field energy transfer, and far field energy transfer.

9. The energy transfer control system (100) according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the energy transfer control system (100) further comprises an energy generation arrangement (102) for generating electrical energy, which generated electrical energy is transferred to the one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) using the one or more mobile energy storages (120).

10. The energy transfer control system (100) according to claim 9, wherein the generation of electrical energy by the energy generation arrangement (102) further generates waste-water, and wherein the waste-water is recycled to be used by the one or more mining and / or construction machines (110).

11. The energy transfer control system (100) according to any of claims 9-10, wherein the generation of electrical energy by the energy generation arrangement (102) further generates waste-heat, and wherein the waste-heat is recycled.

12. The energy transfer control system (100) according to claim 11, wherein the recycled waste-heat is used for any one or more out of: heating the one or more mining and / or construction machines (110), and district heating.

13. A method for controlling energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site (101), wherein one or more mobile energy storages (120) are configured to provide energy to one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) operating at the mining and / or construction site (101), the method comprising: for each of one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) and one or more mobile energy storages (120), obtaining (301) a respective set of parameters, controlling the energy transfer by allocating (304) one or more mobile energy storages (120) to perform a respective first action related to transfer energy at the mining and / or construction site (101), wherein the respective first action is based at least partly on the respective set of parameters.

14. A control unit (130) configured to control energy transfer at a mining and / or construction site (101), wherein one or more mobile energy storages (120) are configured to provide energy to one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) operating at the mining and / or construction site (101), the control unit (130) further being configured to:for each of one or more mining and / or construction machines (110) and one or more mobile energy storages (120), obtain a respective set of parameters, control the energy transfer by allocating one or more mobile energy storages (120) to perform a respective first action related to transfer energy at the mining and / or construction site (101), wherein the respective first action is adapted to be based at least partly on the respective set of parameters.

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