Tag Archives: First Mode

First Mode opens new Seattle factory, boosts hybrid electric vehicle retrofit capacity

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , ,

First Mode has hosted the grand opening of its factory in the SoDo district of Seattle, significantly boosting its capability to manufacture hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) retrofit kits for the mining sector.

Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee, and Zero Emission Transportation Association Executive Director, Albert Gore, among other key government, industry and union leaders, were there for the offical ribbon cutting, reflecting on the company’s work to decarbonise heavy industry.

The 40,000 sq.ft (3,716 sq.m) factory is now one of the largest clean tech manufacturing facilities in the city, according to First Mode, which is majority owned by Anglo American. Each year, it will produce the components and systems for up to 150 First Mode HEV retrofits. In addition, it is equipped to not only double its annual HEV throughput but rapidly pivot to full battery and hydrogen fuel cell EV retrofits as customer demand also grows for the company’s zero-emissions products, First Mode said.

The $22-million factory will employ up to 30 staff locally and cultivate impact around the world by helping to reduce the emissions of heavy industry, a hard-to-abate sector that is responsible for a quarter of carbon emissions globally, First Mode says.

“In mining, for example, a typical ultra-class haul truck – about the size of a three-story building – burns about one million litres of diesel fuel per year, producing around 2,700 t of carbon dioxide annually,” the company explained. “Across our customer market, over 13,000 haul trucks are in global operation, releasing 35 million t of carbon dioxide annually – the equivalent of nearly eight million gas-fueled passenger cars each year, slightly more than the number of cars in Washington state (USA).”

With no changes to infrastructure required, First Mode’s HEV retrofit keeps the truck’s existing assets intact – safeguarding the mining company’s previous investment in the truck while reducing its fuel usage and carbon emissions by up to 25%.

“But what fully differentiates First Mode’s HEV from the rest is its flexible, interoperable design that readies the truck for the final step on its path to zero emissions,” the company said. “Specifically, the design “feeds forward” into either First Mode’s full battery or next-generation hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle drivetrains, both of which are diesel-free.”

With an annual expected throughput of up to 150 HEV units, the First Mode factory is poised to generate the equivalent environmental impact of taking 90,000 passenger cars off the road each year.

First Mode CEO, Julian Soles, said: “With our factory, the clean energy future for heavy industry begins here in Seattle. [This is] because greener economies require greener minerals, and greener minerals require greener mines.”

Anglo American to formalise First Mode partnership as part of zero emissions haul truck deployment plans

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Power supply for mines, , , ,

Anglo American says it is in exclusive negotiations with First Mode Holding Inc, and has agreed non-binding terms, to combine Anglo American’s nuGen™ Zero Emissions Haulage Solution (ZEHS) with First Mode, the specialist engineering technology company that partnered with Anglo American to develop the nuGen ZEHS.

The transaction would include a capital investment by Anglo American in the combined business and is intended to accelerate the development and commercialisation of Anglo American’s nuGen ZEHS, Anglo says. The new combined business would retain the First Mode name as an independent business and prioritise developing nuGen ZEHS, building on three years of extensive development by Anglo American and First Mode.

Anglo American launched the prototype of its nuGen ZEHS hydrogen-powered mine haul truck at its Mogalakwena PGMs mine in South Africa on May 6, 2022 – the world’s largest designed to operate in everyday mining conditions. It was run with 150 t of payload for the launch, only due to there not being a matching shovel in the trial area, but Anglo said that the prototype is already fully capable of its full 290 t payload. The launch saw it drive up a 7% slope – representative of typical mine haul road grade at Mogalakwena – and then dump the 150 t load, with a main driver and co-driver on board the truck.

The agreement envisages that Anglo American will enter into an agreement with First Mode to decarbonise its global fleet of ultra-class mine haul trucks, of which approximately 400 are currently in operation, as well as provide critical supporting infrastructure such as refuelling, recharging and facilitation of hydrogen production.

Anglo American also recognises its role in supporting broader decarbonisation objectives outside its own business. The technologies and capabilities that it has been developing as part of the nuGen project with First Mode present opportunities beyond Anglo American’s haul truck fleet, including across other industries that rely on heavy-duty forms of transport, such as rail.

Anglo American acquired a 10% strategic equity interest in First Mode in 2021.

The latest transaction would include Anglo American making an additional capital investment in the combined business which, upon completion, would result in a majority shareholding. The balance of the equity interest at that time would be held by a number of First Mode’s founders and employees.

In addition to accelerating the development and commercialisation of the ZEHS technology, the new combined business would allow strategic third parties to co-invest alongside Anglo American and First Mode, offering the opportunity to accelerate their own decarbonisation and participate in the potential offered by the clean ZEHS technology.

Anglo American enlists First Mode to help with carbon-neutral mining goals

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

Anglo American has signed a multi-year agreement with design, engineering, and system development firm First Mode that could see the Seattle-based company develop new systems and technology for the diversified miner.

First Mode, well known for its work adapting the tools and technologies developed for the robotic exploration of the solar system, will be supporting projects across Anglo American’s FutureSmart Mining™ program as part of the $13.5 million contract, it said. FutureSmart Mining is an innovation-led approach to address mining’s major sustainability challenges.

This work will include technology trade-off studies, engineering design, prototypical developments, technology demonstrations, delivery of integrated systems, and deployment to sites around the world, First Mode said.

This collaboration builds on successful projects across Anglo American’s portfolio during 2019, where First Mode is supporting Anglo American on the systems engineering, integration, and test program for its hydrogen-powered mine haul truck with ‘first motion’ planned in 2020, it said.

Tony O’Neill, Technical Director of Anglo American, said the miner looked forward to developing and implementing innovative technologies over the coming years in tandem with First Mode.

“This work supports our trajectory towards our carbon and energy targets for 2030 and, ultimately, our vision of carbon-neutral mining,” he said.

Chris Voorhees, President and Chief Engineer of First Mode, said: “Mining produces the resources needed for a cleaner, more sustainable planet. Development of the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine truck is an important step in making the natural resources sector carbon-neutral from start-to-finish.”

Rhae Adams, VP of Business Development at First Mode, meanwhile, said Anglo was the “perfect partner” to help fulfil the company’s vision of a future based on renewable energy.

Back in October, First Mode confirmed it had been selected by NASA to develop a pioneering lunar mission concept with Arizona State University (ASU), to be funded through NASA’s Planetary Mission Concept Study program. The mission, called Intrepid, would develop and deploy the Intrepid rover to traverse the furthest distance of any rover in NASA’s history, examining the geology of the lunar surface over an area of some 1,800 km.