Growing the hydrogen economy will revolutionize heavy industry, lowering emissions while creating new economic opportunities. North American Mining explores the potential of hydrogen in haulage environments, highlighting the world’s largest zero-emission haul truck and its role in accelerating the mining industry’s transition to zero emissions.
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The onboard 2-megawatt power plant replaces the traditional diesel engine, and was designed in collaboration with First Mode, a Seattle-based creative engineering firm. The power plant comprises a hydrogen fuel cell and battery pack, each of which provides half of the available power. It’s a combination that helps overcome the challenges that hydrogen fuel cells and batteries pose when used individually.
As First Mode said in a statement marking the launch of the nuGen truck: “Balancing onboard battery storage with fuel cell power generation allows the truck to take advantage of the best of both worlds, with the batteries enabling energy capture from regenerative braking, and the fuel cells enabling rapid refueling with hydrogen.”
Or as Anglo American explained, “by harvesting the regenerative energy created when driving downhill, we reduce our need for external energy. This energy, stored in the battery, together with the hydrogen extends the truck’s range and reduces the out of cycle time for the trucks, since hydrogen refuelling is significantly faster than recharging batteries.”
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