Anglo American unveiled a prototype of what's it's calling the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck designed to operate in everyday mining conditions at its Mogalakwena PGMs mine in South Africa.
The 2MW hydrogen-battery hybrid truck, generating more power than its diesel predecessor and capable of carrying a 290-ton payload, is part of Anglo American’s nuGen Zero Emission Haulage Solution (ZEHS). nuGen provides an integrated green hydrogen system, consisting of production, fueling and haulage system, with green hydrogen to be produced at the mine site.
nuGen is part of FutureSmart Mining, Anglo American’s approach to sustainable mining – which brings together technology and digitalization to drive sustainability outcomes, including the company's commitment to carbon-neutrality across its operations by 2040.
“nuGen is a tangible demonstration of our FutureSmart Mining program changing the future of our industry. With diesel emissions from our haul truck fleet accounting for c.10-15% of our total Scope 1 emissions, this is an important step on our pathway to carbon neutral operations by 2040. The mining industry is playing a considerable role in helping the world decarbonize, both through our own emissions footprint and the metals and minerals that we produce that are critical to low carbon energy and transport systems," said Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad. “Over the next several years, we envisage converting or replacing our current fleet of diesel-powered trucks with this zero-emission haulage system, fueled with green hydrogen. If this pilot is successful, we could remove up to 80% of diesel emissions at our open pit mines by rolling this technology across our global fleet.”
“It is these game-changing innovations that are exactly why we began our FutureSmart Mining journey in 2014, knowing how much of a difference we can make, including in the energy transition and across our societal footprint. Innovative, clean and independent power systems, such as our nuGen ZEHS project, offer a significant part of the emissions solution," said Tony O’Neill, Technical Director of Anglo American.
