ZPMC (振华重工), a Shanghai-headquartered heavy machinery producer, recently delivered the last batch of six automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to Mongolia, bringing the total of AGVs it supplied to the country to 30.
According to ZPMC, it signed a deal with an unnamed Mongolian counterpart in September 2022, whereby it is responsible for providing automated transportation and logistics equipment to handle the freight flowing into and out of Mongolia by land.
ZPMC delivered the first batch of six AGVs in February this year, over a 4-km journey from a Chinese customs checkpoint at Ganqimaodu Port — the largest Chinese land border port — to the 24-hour Gashuunsukhait Port in Mongolia.
The Ganqimaodu-Gashuunsukhait Port is the largest among a number of ports along the China-Mongolian border by the volume of coal import from Mongolia.
On July 16 last year, the port trialed AGVs for the first time to transport coal, with 20 AGVs carrying 40 containers full of coal, totaling 137,1.6 tons.
Each AGV can move 64 tons of coal for export on a single errand.
Due to a frigid climate at the port, which can cause disruptions to the power systems of full-electric transport vehicles, ZPMC equipped its AGVs with a hybrid system composed of a diesel generator and lithium-ion battery cells.
As a result, the autonomous vehicles can operate at an extreme temperature ranging from -40 to 40 degrees Celsius.
They also enable wireless connection with equipment belonging to Mongolian customs and border control, such as weighbridge, checkpoint access control and sanitation and quarantine tools, ensuring efficiency even in an unmanned environment.
Mongolian authorities announced earlier that aside from the Ganqimaodu-Gashuunsukhait port, they are also in talks with their Chinese counterparts to open up more ports — such as the Shiveekhuren-Ceke and Khangi-Mandula ports — for adoption of AGVs to assist with cross-border cargo delivery between these two nations.
