Anglo American made its debut at the Mogalakwena mine in South Africa the world's first hydrogen mining truck First Mode.
David Gerhardt, chief system engineer of First Mode, said that about 50% of emissions in the sector are created by trucks, so such transport can help decarbonize the industry, reports CNN.
The truck consumes about 2 MW of energy every second, which would be enough to power 1,500 houses
The material emphasized that such trucks weigh about 500 metric tons and are among the largest vehicles on the planet. They are the main source of emissions in the mining industry, which generates about 7% of global carbon emissions.
First Mode is developing zero-emission solutions to replace diesel truck engines, including hydrogen. The company estimates that the average career dump truck in its fleet consumes 900,000 liters of diesel per year.
The hybrid truck project, which has hydrogen fuel cells with battery power, was launched in 2019, and in May 2021 it already started working at the mine.
First Mode CEO Chris Voorhees emphasized that decarbonizing the industry goes beyond the quarry trucks themselves and depends on how raw materials are sourced, created and manufactured.
The material emphasized that carbon emissions from the use of hydrogen as a fuel depend on the method of its production. Thus, green hydrogen is created using renewable energy sources, while fossil fuels are used to create blue hydrogen. But critics of ecological hydrogen say that using RES to produce other fuels is a waste of clean energy.
First Mode said their truck was designed to run on green hydrogen specifically, and the company is working to create a sustainable supply chain to support the trucks.
"We want to see it through," Voorhees said. "We're seeing it successfully implemented in mines around the world in a way that really transforms mining."
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that Airgas, USA, will release two Hyzon Motors hydrogen-powered heavy trucks fuel cells on cylinder delivery routes in California.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, in Germany diesel trains of the LNVG regional connection were replaced by the world's first 100% hydrogen powered trains from the French company Alstom.
