Based on the BMW 760Li luxury sedan, the Hydrogen 7 is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine that uses both gasoline and hydrogen.
Meanwhile, Japanese auto giant Toyota is another company launching a hydrogen-fueled vehicle. The company launched the Mirai FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). This excellent rear-drive hydrogen sedan is a solid option if you live in California, Hawaii, or where hydrogen filling stations are prevalent. Plus, Toyota is also working on a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine, and it even went racing in a track-ready Corolla hatchback.
In fact, hydrogen technology is also suitable for commercial and industrial applications. South African mining company Anglo American recently unveiled the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck. While Toyota proves that hydrogen can be used in the tiniest remote-controlled toy cars for future consumers, Anglo American is putting hydrogen technology to work for huge industrial applications.
Meet the nuGen 2 MW hydrogen battery hybrid truck
Anglo American’s massive 2 MW hydrogen battery hybrid truck is a product of the company’s nuGen Zero Emissions Transportation Solutions (ZEHS), part of the group’s FutureSmartMining sustainable mining initiative. Duncan Wandblad, CEO of Anglo American, said: “The mining industry plays a considerable role in helping to decarbonise the world, both through our own emissions footprint and through the metals and minerals we produce, which are critical to low carbon energy and transport systems. important.”
Working with other technology companies including ENGIE, First Mode, Ballard and NPROXX, Anglo American retrofitted a 2-megawatt hybrid battery and hydrogen fuel cell power unit to a diesel-powered mining hauler. Fuel cells provide half of the truck’s power, while the other half comes from a giant battery pack that recovers electricity from braking.
According to Anglo American, a typical hydrogen fuel cell vehicle mixes hydrogen fuel with oxygen and uses platinum as a catalyst to create a chemical reaction. The electrical energy from this reaction powers the motors that turn the wheels, and the only emissions are water vapor.
Qualification of bulldozer
The nuGen mining vehicle has a payload of 290 tons. Plus, it has a 1.2 MWh battery pack. The nuGen truck’s fuel cells and batteries generate 800 kilowatts of power. If you do the math, the truck has a 1200 kWh battery, which equates to about 15 modern Ioniq 5 battery packs, which is a big number. But then again, that means a lot of power is needed to move vehicles weighing more than 15,400 pounds (7,000 kilograms).
It is understood that the nuGen trucks will be self-sufficient. The project includes a fully integrated green hydrogen refueling station, and the company will also produce green hydrogen on-site using Africa’s largest electrolyzer and solar array. According to Anglo American, nuGen trucks will soon join the company’s open pit platinum mining operations. The company plans to eliminate significant diesel emissions associated with its workplaces by replacing its fleet of diesel-powered mining trucks with nuGen hydrogen trucks. Separately, Anglo American added that its current fleet of 40 diesel mining trucks can consume up to one million litres of diesel fuel per year.
Wandblad said: “Over the next few years, we envision converting or replacing our current fleet of diesel-powered trucks with this green hydrogen-fueled zero-emissions transportation system. If this pilot is successful, then we can make Rolling out this technology across the global fleet will eliminate up to 80% of diesel emissions from our open pit mines.”
