Anglo American introduces biggest mine-haul truck in the world

Replacing the diesel trucks with the hydrogen model could keep ‘700 cars’ worth of carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere.

Mining giant, Anglo American has unveiled the world’s biggest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck. The massive truck is three stories tall and weighs in at over 220-tonnes. The truck is said to have entered operations at Mogalakwena PGMs mine in South Africa.

The nuGen prototype is said to be the first of a large fleet, said to replace the company’s conventional diesel-powered trucks. The hydrogen truck is powered by a 1.2 MWh battery pack, with eight fuel cells producing a total output of 2,682 BHP. The hydrogen truck is also said to boast of multiple electric motors, regenerative braking and the ability to carry 290 tonnes of ore.

As per reports, the hydrogen truck is based on a diesel model and took three years to build. The company currently has plans to retrofit 40 diesel-powered trucks to hydrogen at their mine in South Africa. Thereafter, the company also has plans to roll out the hydrogen tech to power their global fleet consisting of around 400 trucks.

Duncan Wanblad, CEO, Anglo American, said that if the pilot operation of the hydrogen truck is successful and implemented across the globe, it would help remove 80% of the diesel emission at the open-pit mines.

Reports suggest that a typical diesel-powered truck consumes 9 lakh litres of fuel every year. By replacing these with the hydrogen truck, it could keep ‘700 cars’ worth of carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere.

Source: CarScoops