The adoption of green hydrogen by the global mining industry to cut carbon dioxide emissions may be in its early days, but London-based Anglo American has already established itself as the industry’s leader.

And this leadership starts at the top. Mark Cutifani, one of the 13 founding CEOs of the Hydrogen Council—and the only one representing a mining company—has been promoting the hydrogen economy since becoming chief executive of Anglo American in 2013. Heavy-duty haul trucks account for between 70pc and 80pc of diesel consumption in open pit mining, and batteries, unlike hydrogen, typically lack the energy storage and recharging speeds necessary for 24h/d heavy-duty usage.

Anglo American is planning to retrofit its entire fleet of large haul trucks at seven mines to hydrogen by 2030

Until recently, none of the major manufacturers heeded Anglo American’s call to develop hydrogen-powered large haul trucks. This forced the company’s hand, as it is targeting emissions to be 30pc below 2016 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2040, and these trucks tend to have 10-15-year lifetimes.

In October 2019, Anglo American announced it was developing a hydrogen-powered heavy-duty haul truck as part of its FutureSmart Mining innovation programme. The pilot project involves the retrofit of a 290t-payload Komatsu 930E truck to a fuel cell and lithium-ion battery powered prototype at Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa.

Ballard Power Systems is the fuel cell supplier for the pilot project, Williams Advanced Engineering the provider of the high-power modular lithium battery system—to make the truck a fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV)—while Nel Hydrogen is the supplier of a 3.5MW electrolyser to produce the green hydrogen needed to power the retrofitted truck, using solar power produced near the Mogalakwena mine site.

The intention at the time of the original announcement was to achieve first motion in 2020, but the timeline of the pilot project has been pushed back by various factors, including issues related to Covid-19. Despite the delay, Anglo American is still planning to retrofit its entire fleet of large haul trucks at seven mines to hydrogen by 2030, with the 40 trucks at the Mogalakwena mine to be converted beginning in 2024.

To learn more about the company’s decarbonisation efforts, including the heavy-duty haul truck programme and the rationale behind it, Hydrogen Economist undertook a joint interview with two Anglo American department heads: Jan Klawitter, head of international policy; and Julian Soles, head of technology development, mining & sustainability.

40 – Trucks converted to hydrogen at Mogalakwena mine

Is green hydrogen already economic at more remote mines, given the relatively high cost of diesel, or are further cost reductions still required?

The cost of green hydrogen still has a way to go. But as things scale up, we expect it to be economic by 2024 or 2025 in areas with higher diesel and electricity costs, and by 2030 for others. And that is based on the conservative assumption of no carbon taxes or subsidies to support the use of hydrogen.

What significant roles do you foresee green hydrogen having in accomplishing your company’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2040?

Cutting emissions from large haul trucks is first, and obviously the most significant. Then it is a matter of exploring, because once we have the hydrogen fuelling infrastructure in place it indirectly brings down the cost for other applications. These could include mining locomotives, drills and even heating. We will prioritise and then go down the list.

What share of your company’s total carbon emissions could hydrogen mitigate by 2040?

It is quite substantial for scope one and two emissions, as this is a system solution. We are displacing grid power as well as diesel in large haul trucks, so it will have a large impact at each site it is deployed at. But you need to keep in mind that some mines are less power-intensive than others, and then there is the matter of whether the mine is being powered by a regional grid or not. When looking at scope three emissions, emerging technologies for green steel using hydrogen as well as hydrogen-based fuels in shipping could significantly reduce them.

When do you foresee first motion for your large haul truck pilot programme? 

Things are going very well, despite Covid-19. The electrolyser should be built by mid-year, and the truck running during the second half of the year. You have got to keep in mind there are strict safety requirements, and we must move cautiously once everything is up and running. Hydrogen is to be produced and stored at the mine site and refuelling requires training and educating people on the different hazards associated with hydrogen.

“We are displacing grid power as well as diesel in large haul trucks, so it will have a large impact at each site it is deployed at”

When should the pilot programme be completed?

There is no real end date for that. We will continue to use the truck as a learning platform once it is up and running. We are already planning for the scale up and roll out at other mine sites in order to meet our 2030 emissions reduction target.

Anglo American is planning to convert its entire fleet of heavy-duty haul trucks to hydrogen at seven mines by 2030. What share do the trucks at these seven mines represent of your company’s total?

Most of them. Those are all our large haul trucks with the exception of ones at shorter life mines.

Finally, it was reported in February that Komatsu has started a programme to develop a line of hydrogen-powered haul trucks with a launch goal of 2030. Is Anglo American involved in this initiative?

No, we are not associated with that programme. We had been asking manufacturers to develop those sort of trucks for a while now, so it is good to hear they are moving in that direction but their timelines are still too far out for us. To meet our emission targets, we currently have no choice but to move ahead ourselves. This sort of project, our truck project as part of an integrated mine decarbonisation solution, is a first for mining companies.

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Author: Vincent Lauerman