There is some more information to be shared on the innovative FCEV for mining, a 200 ton hydrogen fuel-lithium battery mixed energy hybrid mining truck, which was completed by Weichai Power together with CRRC Yongji earlier this year. First off, the truck is still a prototype – it is capable of motion unloaded, seen in video footage by IM, but for demonstration purposes only – the fully working production truck will follow though there is no set timeframe yet and this will depend on levels of interest from potential mining customers as well as setting up of hydrogen infrastructure at any potential mine user site.
Secondly, fuel cell tech industry leader Ballard Power Systems confirmed to IM that it provided four 85 kW fuel cell modules for the prototype – at 340 kW this is still well short of the 800 kW that Weichai says will be needed for the full production truck. This would be a very similar size of fuel cell power pack to that on the FCEV hybrid truck that Anglo American is developing – it has 8 x 100 kW fuel cell modules, also from Ballard. The Anglo truck will use a WAE high-power modular lithium-ion battery system from Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), while the Weichai truck has a lithium-ion battery from a Chinese supplier.
Interestingly, Ballard has a significant relationship with both Anglo American and Weichai. The modules for the Chinese truck were supplied by Ballard from its manufacturing operation in Vancouver, Canada. But Ballard also has a major JV with Weichai, namely Ballard Hy-Energy Technologies (normally referred to as the Weichai-Ballard JV). Weichai Power holds a 51% ownership position and Ballard holds a 49% ownership position in the Weichai-Ballard JV. The Weichai-Ballard JV production facility, located in Shandong Province, China, is expected to be commissioned and operational in the first half of 2020. Once operational, the Weichai-Ballard JV production facility will begin the manufacture of next-generation LCS fuel cell stacks and LCS-based modules to power Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) for the China market. Ballard told IM that the JV facility in China is still going through the commissioning process and should be operating “mid-year.” Once in operation, Ballard told IM that additional modules for the mining truck project could be ordered from the JV.
Aside from this In August 2018, the two companies announced that Weichai would become the largest shareholder in Ballard with 19.9%. At the time, the Chinese company invested around $163 million in the Canadian company.
For its part, Anglo American via Anglo American Platinum invested $4 million in Ballard back in 2013 through its PGM Development Fund. At the time, Anglo American Platinum said this was related to its interest in the growth of fuel cell market adoption both for the implications for platinum utilisation, but also related to the potential transformational impact fuel cells could have on the economy in South Africa. Anglo has gone on to make other investments in hydrogen fuel cell technology companies, notably Altergy Systems and Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells.
Alongside Shell Technology Ventures (STV) Anglo also invested in High-Yield Energy Technologies (HyET), a Dutch company that has developed electrochemical hydrogen compression (EHC) technology that will support the adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). HyET’s technology is a more cost-effective and reliable substitute for mechanical hydrogen compression both in existing industrial applications and in hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS).
In the US Anglo invested $4 million to help reduce the delivered costs of hydrogen and support the development of hydrogen refuelling stations for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the north-east corridor of the United States. The investment in United Hydrogen Group (UHG), a hydrogen production and distribution business in the United States, was aimed at bolstering the demand for platinum, which is used in FCEVs.
Anglo American Platinum has also invested in Greyrock Energy, Inc, a leader in small scale gas-to-liquids technology. Greyrock’s systems use proprietary catalysts to convert methane rich feedstocks into premium transportation fuels while also generating significant potential environmental benefits. Greyrock’s catalysts incorporate metals produced by Anglo American Platinum. The Greyrock process, which produces hydrogen as a by-product, will also provide an alternative source for hydrogen and support lowering the costs associated with hydrogen delivery for use in FCEVs.
