A technology company has begun trialling one of the world’s largest mine haul trucks powered by hydrogen.
Williams Advanced Engineering was recently procured by Anglo American to help develop a hydrogen powered “ultra-class” electric mining haul truck.
1000 kilowatt power
The agreement involves replacing the truck’s existing diesel engine with a scalable high-power modular lithium-ion battery that can store more than 1000 kilowatts per hour of energy. A fuel cell electric vehicle machine and regenerative brakes will also be installed.
Power units will be designed and manufactured at the contractor’s UK facility in Grove, Oxfordshire. The rest of the work and testing will be carried out at Anglo-Platinum Group’s Mogalakwena Platinum Mine in South Africa later in the year.
This pilot project is being funded through Anglo’s FutureSmart Mining program, which encourages innovative thinking and technology to provide solutions to the industry’s major sustainability challenges.
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Anglo hopes a new fleet of hydrogen powered haul trucks, passenger vehicles and employee buses will help the company reduce its carbon emissions by 30 per cent.
“We look forward to working with Williams Advanced Engineering to deliver this important step-change technology, a true world first for a vehicle of this size and load capacity,” Anglo head of technology development Julian Soles said in a public statement.
“We believe Williams can help us to deliver this ground-breaking project, which is part of our plan to create a smart energy mix that moves us closer towards our carbon and energy targets for 2030 and, ultimately, our vision of operating a carbon-neutral mine.”
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