- The building-sized trucks run on diesel and prompt logistical complications as large amounts of diesel must be shipped to remote mining sites.
- Attempts to decarbonize the mining sector will have to consider the heavy-duty vehicles.
Global mining companies are increasingly turning to renewables to power operations withย landmark projects in Australiaย including Juwiโs Sandfire DeGrussa mine making headlines. Givenย mines have a limited life span, are in remote, off-grid locationsย and have vast areas of land nearby, solar and wind power is an obvious choice.
Now French power company Engie and mining giant Anglo American have announced a partnership to develop the worldโs first hydrogen powered mining haul truck.
Renewables generation and battery assetsย can be used to source electricity to power mining operations but a significant chunk of the carbon emissions generated by mining companies comes from the diesel consumed by giant, 300-ton capacity haul trucks.
Anglo American has pledged to fully decarbonize its operations and plans to integrate a hydrogen generation solution provided by Engie into its trucks. The miner will modify vehicles byย replacing diesel with hydrogen tanksย and replacing engines with hydrogen fuel cells and battery packs.
Solar-powered hydrogen
โWe are delighted to join forces with Anglo American to design the first solution that aims to decarbonize heavy-duty mobility in the mining sector,โย said Michรจle Azalbert, CEO of Engieโs hydrogen business unit.ย โThis is part of Engieโsย strategy to develop industrial scale hydrogen-based solutions to help our energy-intensive customers in their journey to carbon neutrality.โ
The first hydrogen trucks are set to be moving next year. A testing and validation phase will be conducted at Anglo Americanโs Mogalakwena Platinum Group Metals mine in South Africa before the project is scaled up. Solar arrays atย mining sites will power electrolyzersย for hydrogen production.
A few weeks ago, Anglo American announced it had installed an 86 kW floating PV array at one of its copper mines in Chile. The use of floating PV on the mineโs water reservoir significantly reduces evaporation losses. The use of hydrogen trucks in underground mines could also lead to significantly lower ventilation costs, adding value for the mining company.
Author: Marian Willuhn
This article was originally published in pv magazine and is republished with permission.