Suncor Energy, which is a Canadian integrated energy company, has announced that it will proceed with the “phased implementation of autonomous haulage systems (AHS)” at company-operated mines, starting with the North Steepbank mine.

Over the next six years, Suncor expects to deploy more than 150 autonomous haul trucks in the full program, which will be “one of the largest investments in electric autonomous vehicles in the world,” according to the company.

Suncor has spent the past four years evaluating AHS technology, and the company has validated that this technology can be used “safely, effectively and efficiently in its operating environment.”

Suncor says that evaluations have shown that this technology offers a variety of advantages over existing truck and shovel operations. Some of these advantages include enhanced safety performance, better operating efficiency and lower operating costs.

“Suncor was the first company to transition from bucketwheel to truck and shovel operations in the early 1990s and we're continuing to be on the leading edge of oil sands technologies today,” says Mark Little, chief operating officer, Suncor.

“To be the very first company to test these systems and implement them at a commercial scale in our oil sands mining operations speaks to our long history of embracing and implementing game changing technologies - it's simply part of our DNA.”

Suncor says that autonomous trucks operate “predictably,” and employ a suite of safety features such as prescribed route mapping and obstacle detection systems.

For Little, safety is of the utmost importance when it comes to Suncor.

“Safety is our number one value at Suncor,” Little adds. “Autonomous haulage systems reduce interaction between people and equipment, which decreases incident rates and injury potential - helping us ensure everyone goes home safely at the end of every day.”