Antofagasta Minerals will be among the first mining companies worldwide to install a pilot project to advance the use of hydrogen in large mining equipment, such as mining trucks. The project, promoted by the HYDRA Consortium, aims to develop and test the technology necessary to replace the use of diesel in these high-tonnage vehicles and thus reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The HYDRA consortium, made up of ENGIE, Mining3, CSIRO Chile, Mitsui & Co (USA), Inc and now Antofagasta Minerals, amongst other institutions including Thiess, Reborn, Ballard & Hexagon, will install a hydrogen fuel cell and battery-powered prototype powertrain – a hybrid FCEV set-up – for the operation of a mining truck at Minera Centinela. In this way, under the auspices of the CORFO program, it will be possible to test the operation of the equipment and its performance in real mining conditions, such as extreme temperatures, geographical height, etc.
“We decided to participate in this project to contribute to the development of new technologies that help us face climate change. Thanks to innovation we can move faster towards the goal of our operations being carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest, ”said Iván Arriagada, Executive President of Antofagasta Minerals. The initiative is part of the Electromobility Plan, which is part of the group’s Climate Change Strategy. Together with other projects, the objective is to create the conditions that enable the use of hydrogen in mining and understand its real potential in the replacement of diesel.
“We are very happy to contribute to the development of this new fuel and to test it in real mining conditions. If this pilot delivers favorable results, we hope to have extraction trucks using hydrogen in about five more years,” explained Carlos Espinoza, General Manager of Minera Centinela. As part of its Climate Change Strategy, Antofagasta Minerals has adopted measures to mitigate the possible impacts of its operations. In 2018, it was one of the first mining companies to commit to a goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 300,000 t by 2022. Thanks to a series of initiatives, the group not only met its objective two years earlier, it also nearly doubled it, reducing emissions by 580,000 t at the end of 2020.
In May of this year, the group announced two new goals. In the short term, reduce its direct and indirect emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 30% by 2025, compared to 2020. This is equivalent to a reduction of 730,000 t of GHG. In addition, it promised to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 or earlier if technology allows it, a goal similar to that of Chile. With this objective, Antofagasta Minerals modified all its electricity supply contracts to use only clean energy sources, which do not generate emissions. Starting in 2022, the four companies of the group will use 100% renewable energy.
