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Automotive

Monster 1000-kWh hydrogen-powered electric mining truck to begin testing

By Loz Blain
February 10, 2020
Monster 1000-kWh hydrogen-powered electric mining truck to begin testing
A step toward carbon-neutral mining: this giant mining truck will use a 1,000-kWh battery and a hydrogen fuel cell
A step toward carbon-neutral mining: this giant mining truck will use a 1,000-kWh battery and a hydrogen fuel cell
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A step toward carbon-neutral mining: this giant mining truck will use a 1,000-kWh battery and a hydrogen fuel cell
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A step toward carbon-neutral mining: this giant mining truck will use a 1,000-kWh battery and a hydrogen fuel cell

Anglo American and Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) have joined forces to develop what will become the world's largest hydrogen or electric powered mining truck, aiming to help bring carbon neutral mining within reach.

This colossal ultra-class beast will be gutted and retrofitted with a monster 1,000-plus kWh lithium battery pack, built by WAE to be scalable if further capacity is needed in the future. That alone would give this thing nearly twice the energy storage of Switzerland's eDumper, which holds the current "world's biggest electric vehicle" record.

A hydrogen fuel tank will be added, with a fuel cell to generate additional power or top up the battery as needed. Having the hydrogen tank onboard means the truck can stay in constant operation without needing to be taken offline for long battery charging sessions.

Peak power is said to be "significant," in the way that Donald Trump has been called "controversial," and the truck will recoup a lot of its spent energy when it rolls downhill thanks to a regenerative braking system.

Testing will begin in South Africa later this year, as Anglo American aims to fulfill its commitment of reducing its carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

Source: Williams Advanced Engineering

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AutomotiveMiningTruckElectric truckHydrogen-poweredClimate Solutions: Road Transport
6 comments
Loz Blain
Loz Blain
Loz leads the New Atlas team as Editorial Director, after nearly two decades as one of our most versatile writers. He's also proven himself as a photographer, videographer, presenter, producer and podcast engineer. A graduate in Psychology, former business analyst and touring musician, he's covered just about everything for New Atlas, concentrating lately on clean energy, AI, humanoid robotics, next-gen aircraft, and the odd bit of music, motorcycles and automotive.

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6 comments
martinwinlow
Why not just put a diesel/petrol (or even LPG/methane/natural gas (NG))-powered engine in it for 'range-extending'? Using H2 is stupid. The overall effciency of a H2 fuel cell (FC) is barely better than a modern internal combustion engine yet the cost of the FC and the *fantastically* strong H2 tank (it's pressurised to a minimum of 400BAR - 6 *thousand* PSI - to amke it a practical-enough volume for transportaion use) required only adds to the astronomical cost. And most H2 is steam-reformed from natural gas anyway - and it uses a shed-load of electrical energy in the process.

There are lots of other practical barriers to H2FCVs.

H2 *really is* a truly dumb idea for transport.
pajC
I have just one word for this;
IRONY.


I mean.
REALLY?
A "carbon neutral" Mining Tank to MINE?
Like, dig up fossil fuels?

Really?
Tony Morris
A "carbon neutral" dump truck? Great idea - unless Anglo American decide to use it at one of their carbon mines.
-dphiBbydt
Of other large vehicles which could benefit from going fully electric - battery electric would be best - farm vehicles would be prime candidates. Your average tractor drives slowly, benefits from being heavy, doesn't drive far in a given day, clearly has a need for all-wheel-drive, could use all the torque readily available from an electric motor and often there's more than enough farm outbuilding structures to install any amount of grid-tied solar panels to generate the power to make the fuel essentially free.
Thud
There's actually a company called Anglo American?
John Klasen
AS one scientist has stated there is no such thing as clean green energy, the problem is that the economics has to be seen from a cradel to grave point of view, that means we have to come up with new element called UNOBTANIUM.