Australian mining giant Fortescue Metals has operated one of its giant haul trucks on hydrogen fuel cells for the first time, as it continues trials of battery electric and hydrogen alternatives in its drive to dump diesel use by the end of the decade.
The company announced on Thursday that it hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype, dubbed “Europa”, operated off hydrogen for the first time.
The truck, developed in collaboration with Liebherr, actually contains a 1.6MWh battery (developed in-house by Fortescue WAE) and 500 kilowatts of fuel cells. The prototype can store over 380 kilograms of liquid hydrogen.
“Following the success of our battery electric haul truck prototype at site, we’re thrilled to now have Europa up and running on hydrogen,” CEO Dino Otranto said in a statement.
“This is a huge achievement for the team and brings us another step closer to having a fleet of zero emissions* trucks at our sites by the end of this decade.
“We’re aiming to transport Europa to our mining operations within the coming weeks where it will undergo further site-based testing and commissioning. The subsequent test results will inform our future fleet of zero emissions trucks that we’re delivering with Liebherr.”
Fortescue says it has already started to take delivery of the first T 264 diesel electric trucks which will be converted to zero emissions technology before the end of the decade.
It has also tested its 240 tonne electric haul truck prototype, dubbed the Road Runner, which has included laps around the testing track, ramp tests and hill starts while fully loaded.
It is also replacing its diesel excavator fleet with electric excavators, which it says are proving to be more efficient. Once completed, it will eliminate the use of 95 million litres of diesel a year.
The excavator is powered via a 6.6kV substation and more than two kilometres of high voltage trailing cable. It is currently powered partly by solar – the nearby 60 MW solar farm at Chichester – but intends it to be powered 100 per cent by renewable power as the company rolls out more solar and battery storage facilities.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.