Tag Archives: hybrid

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

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.”

Lion One and meeco plan solar/diesel power solution at Tuvatu gold project in Fiji

Lion One Metals has partnered with Switzerland-based clean energy provider the meeco Group to build and install a hybrid solar/diesel power plant at the Tuvatu gold project, in Fiji.

As part of this agreement, Lion One will be a 50% shareholder of a Special Project Vehicle (SPV) through an agreed buy-in structure.

Lion One will use meeco’s 7 MW peak “sun2live” solar power generation system, coupled with diesel generators, to generate up to 11 MW peak power production providing a continuous 24-hour source of power for the Tuvatu gold mine and processing plant. The installation will be built on 4.1 ha of unused land 3.5 km from the project and 17 km from the Nadi International Airport.

The new eco-friendly solar power system will have an estimated annual energy production of approximately 10.31 GWh, displacing more than 6,000 t/y of CO2 emissions, according to Lion One.

Lion One Managing Director, Stephen Mann, said: “meeco has a solid track record of installing and operating solar hybrid power plants worldwide. This hybrid system will not only reduce our carbon footprint, but will enable Lion One to meet our power capacity requirements while significantly reducing fuel consumption and operating costs for the Tuvatu gold project.”

Tuvatu is the largest undeveloped gold project in Fiji and one of highest-grade gold projects anywhere in the world, according to Lion One, with the company focused on building production of 100,000 oz/y over 10 years.

The process facility is designed with a nominal capacity of 219,000 t/y for a nominal design rate of 600 t/d based on an overall availability of 91% with a life of mine average feed grade of 11.3 g/t Au.