Anglo mine unveils first green energy truck

Anglo American yesterday unveiled the world’s biggest green-hydrogen-powered truck at a platinum mine where it aims to replace a fleet of 40 diesel-fuelled vehicles that each use about a million litres of the fossil fuel every year.

The NuGen project at the Mogalakwena mine, owned by Anglo American subsidiary Anglo American Platinum, will use power from a solar plant to supply a hydrogen electrolyser to split water and provide the trucks, which can carry up 315 tons of ore each, with hydrogen fuel.

The project, which is expected to be fully implemented by 2026, is a first step in making eight of the company’s mines carbon neutral by 2030, according to Julian Soles, head of technology development, mining & sustainability at Anglo American.

The company, which mines metals around the world ranging from iron ore and platinum to copper, has set a target of getting all of its operations to that status by 2040.

“People told us three years ago this is not going to happen, this is not a good idea. They are now beginning to take real notice,” Soles said at a presentation in Polokwane. “The vision for us is to see this rolled out across our business and the mining industry. It’s Anglo’s choice whether to commercialise this.”

The mining company, which dominated South Africa’s economy for eight decades before moving its headquarters to London in 1999, initially approached a number of equipment manufacturers with the idea of building a hydrogen powered truck fleet. When it was turned down it took the decision to convert its diesel fleet to make use of the clean fuel itself.

About “80% of our diesel consumption at our large mines is through the use of large trucks,” Soles said.