(London / Johannesburg) – The British-South African mining group Anglo American plc wants to significantly improve its ecological footprint. According to an announcement in the spring, the introduction of a fleet of “top-class hydrogen-powered mine transport vehicles” is planned as part of the “NuGen Zero Emission Haulage Solution” (ZEHS) project. This would “significantly reduce local diesel emissions and at the same time support the development of the South African Hydrogen Valley”.
Solar and wind projects with 600 megawatts
To advance the project, Anglo American and EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of the French EDF Group, have now agreed to set up a joint venture called Envusa Energy. The aim is to develop “a regional ecosystem for renewable energies” (RREE) in South Africa.
The new company will initially launch wind and solar projects with an installed capacity of 600 megawatts. Construction will begin in 2023. The income will be fed into the national power grid and thus made usable for the mining company's locations. The RREE program also envisages the production of green hydrogen.
Hydrogen moves 500-ton trucks
Anglo American now wants to convert 40 diesel trucks to hydrogen power as part of the NuGen project. It is assumed that “we will then introduce this technology in our global fleet of around 400 trucks.”
The company presented the prototype of what it describes as the “world’s largest hydrogen-powered truck” in May. The dump truck, as high as a three-story house, has an empty weight of 220 tons and a loading capacity of 290 tons, with a total weight of 510 tons. The vehicle, designed for use in the Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa, has a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 1,2 megawatt hours, which is powered by fuel cells with an output of up to 800 kilowatts and by generating energy during braking (recuperation). is fed. The drive power is two megawatts (2.700 hp).
The conversion of the first diesel truck was carried out by the US engineering service provider First Mode, in which Anglo American has held a ten percent stake since 2021. The energy supplier Engie, the Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems Inc. and the Dutch mobile and stationary hydrogen storage company NPROXX BV also worked on the development
Conversion of the entire vehicle fleet in sight
To supply the hydrogen-powered transport vehicles in Mogalakwena, Engie is building a solar-powered electrolyser with an output of 3,5 megawatts. This produces 700 cubic meters of green hydrogen per hour. A storage tank holds 800 kilograms at a pressure of 500 bar.
“Over the next few years we want to convert our current truck fleet to green hydrogen,” says Duncan Wanblad, chief executive of Anglo American. “If the pilot project is successful, we could avoid up to 80 percent of diesel emissions in our opencast mines.” After all, a diesel truck swallows around 900.000 liters of fuel per year.
South Africa's Valley of Hydrogen
In South Africa, the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the South African National Development Institute (SANEDI), in collaboration with Anglo American, investigated 
Bambili Energy and Engie explore the possibilities of creating a large hydrogen hub.
In a feasibility study for a “Hydrogen Valley” published in October 2021, three hubs are named for an approximately 835 kilometer long corridor: Johannesburg, which extends to Rustenburg and Pretoria, Durban, which includes the city itself and Richards Bay, and the province Limpopo, which is clustered around Anglo American's Mogalakwena mine.
Anglo America, together with numerous partners, has identified nine hydrogen-related projects in the areas of mobility, industry and construction “that could serve as a springboard for the local hydrogen economy”. Joint infrastructure investments should lead to cost savings, improve the competitiveness of hydrogen production through economies of scale, enable a rapid ramp-up of hydrogen production and serve as a driver for new hydrogen projects.
The South African Hydrogen Valley could contribute between four and nine billion dollars to South Africa's gross domestic product by 2050 and create between 14.000 and 30.000 jobs.
Photos above and middle
Prototype of the hydrogen-powered dump truck in the Mogalakwena platinum mine. © Anglo American
Class schedule
A South African “Hydrogen Valley” could stretch for more than 800 kilometers from Limpopo in the north to Durban on the coast in the south: the hydrogen demand in Mogalakwena alone is forecast at 40.000 tons per year in a study. In Johannesburg there will be around 2030 tonnes in 74.000 and another 70.000 tonnes in the Durban region. © Anglo American
