(Vancouver / Canada) – The US engineering service provider First Mode is receiving 60 fuel cell systems with a total output of six megawatts from the Canadian Ballard Power Systems Inc. Delivery will take place in 2024. The order is an expansion of the business relationship after 2023 modules to power hybrid hydrogen and battery mining vehicles had already been ordered in 35.
First Mode introduced in October 2022 Prototyp of a dump truck that the company had converted from diesel to hydrogen for the British-South African mining group Anglo American plc. The energy supplier Engie, Ballard Power and the Dutch mobile and stationary hydrogen storage company NPROXX BV were involved in the development
Prototype has proven itself in South Africa
The truck was subjected to a stress test in a platinum mine in South Africa. The vehicle has “proven itself under extremely difficult conditions” and provided proof “that a combined fuel cell-battery drive for heavy-duty vehicles is a real alternative to diesel,” said Krunal Desai, Director of Electrical Engineering at First Mode. The challenges in mining lie, among other things, in the high performance required during loading and unloading as well as in continuous operation.
In order to increase the possibilities for future conversions, First Mode contacted the Swiss technology group ABB Asea Brown Bovari Ltd. in mid-May. 80 energy storage systems (ESS) based on lithium-ion batteries of the “bordline” type were ordered. The storage units with a total output of 2,6 megawatt hours would be combined into larger battery packs and increase the available peak power that the tipper truck needs when driving uphill, while energy is recovered through braking when driving downhill.
According to First Mode, replacing a single diesel-powered truck with an electric model could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2.700 tons annually. This corresponds to the emissions of 700 cars per year.
Photos
Prototype of the dump truck converted to hydrogen power in the Mogalakwena platinum mine, South Africa, of the mining group Anglo American. © Anglo American plc
