The world's most sustainable, zero-emission 510-tonne truck

It is the most ambitious project in which the brand has embarked and represents a historic breakthrough. Never before had a truck of this size (220 tons) and load capacity (290 tons) been manufactured that ran on hydrogen.

This model, of which there is only one unit, is already working, assigned to the Moigalakwena mine in South Africa. The mine belongs to Anglo American itself, where platinum is extracted, and it is the largest open pit mine in the world.

The truck is an upgrade from a diesel-powered vehicle. It uses a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell that provides about half the power. The other 50% of the power is handled by a battery pack, which allows energy recovery when braking. Hydrogen enters the fuel cell from the tank and mixes with oxygen to create water in a platinum-catalyzed chemical reaction. This generates electricity that is used to power the motors that drive the huge wheels. The only emission from the vehicle is water vapor.

The hydrogen fuel cell engine, along with the 2-megawatt hybrid battery, replaces the diesel engine fitted to the original model. This total retrofit has been designed by Anglo American and its partner First Mode, in Seattle, USA.

The battery and energy management systems in the truck have been designed to improve the efficiency of energy recovery when trucks are going downhill, through regenerative braking.

By harvesting the regenerative energy created by driving downhill, they reduce the need for external power. This energy, stored in the battery, along with hydrogen, extends the truck's range and reduces truck out-of-cycle time, since hydrogen refueling is significantly faster than battery recharging.

To complement the nuGen™, a hydrogen production, storage and refueling complex has been built at the Mogalakwena mine, incorporating the largest electrolyser in Africa and a solar photovoltaic field to complement the needs of the refurbished extraction mega truck

“Over the next few years we plan to convert or replace our current fleet of diesel trucks with this zero-emission transportation system powered by green hydrogen. If the pilot program is successful we could eliminate up to 80% of CO2 emissions in our open pit mines”, explains Duncan Wanblad, chief executive of Anglo American.

For now, this new truck model will replace 40 conventional diesel trucks, and will eliminate the high consumption of fossil fuel that powered them.

You can see the video of the NuGen presentation HERE.