What It Feels Like to Power the World's Largest Zero-Emission Vehicle

On May 6, the First Mode team successfully powered the world’s largest zero-emission vehicle, a first-of-its-kind hydrogen haul truck developed in partnership with global mining giant Anglo American.
A bit more about the truck:
-A hydrogen fuel cell and battery powerplant designed, built, and integrated by First Mode engineers replaced the diesel engine that previously powered the Komatsu 930E-4. The powerplant is the size of a small school bus and capable of producing two megawatts of power-enough to power 1,500 typical American homes, or light up 10 Eiffel Towers.
-Inside the powerplant, eight fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity for the vehicle and its auxiliary systems, while the integrated battery packs store energy from the fuel cells and from regenerative braking in order to quickly deliver it as “surge power” to the wheels when needed.
-The vehicle weighs 200 tons while empty, and can carry payloads of 300 tons; the green hydrogen that fuels it is produced entirely on site with solar energy at the Mogalakwena mine in South Africa.
-Instead of belching carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the truck now emits nothing more than water vapor and warm water-an accomplishment that will keep 700 cars’ worth of carbon emissions out of our atmosphere.
In this video, we talk to some of the team members who helped lead the project about what this accomplishment means for them, for our team, and for the planet.
#Hydrogen #FCEV #Mining #CleanTech #BuiltTheBarelyPossible