World's biggest hydrogen trucks start work at Anglo American platinum mine

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Anglo American Plc on Friday unveiled the world’s biggest green-hydrogen powered truck at a platinum mine in northeast South Africa where it aims to replace a fleet of 40 diesel-fueled vehicles that each use about a million liters (264,000 gallons) of the fossil fuel a year.

The NuGen project at the Mogalakwena mine, owned by Anglo American subsidiary Anglo American Platinum Ltd., will use power from a 140 megawatt solar plant to supply hydrogen electrolyzers to split water and provide the trucks, which can carry up 315 tons of ore each, with hydrogen fuel. Engie SA has helped Anglo establish the system.

The project, expected to be fully implemented by 2026, is a first step in making eight of the company’s mines carbon neutral by 2030, according to Julian Soles, head of Technology Development, Mining & Sustainability at Anglo American. The company, which mines metals around the world ranging from iron ore and platinum to copper, has set a target of getting all of its operations to that status by 2040.

“People told us three years ago this is not going to happen, this is not a good idea. They are now beginning to take real notice,” Soles said at a presentation in the South African city of Polokwane. “The vision for us is to see this rolled out across our business and the mining industry. It’s Anglo’s choice whether to commercialize this.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/world-s-biggest-hydrogen-trucks-start-work-at-anglo-american-platinum-mine/ar-AAWZij4m

[Caribbeans]

1. Picture of an awesome machine

The NuGen project at the Mogalakwena mine, owned by Anglo American subsidiary Anglo American Platinum Ltd., will use power from a 140 megawatt solar plant to supply hydrogen electrolyzers to split water and provide the trucks, which can carry up 315 tons of ore each, with hydrogen fuel. Engie SA has helped Anglo establish the system.

“People told us three years ago this is not going to happen, this is not a good idea. They are now beginning to take real notice,” Soles said at a presentation in the South African city of Polokwane.



Hydrogen is the future and the future is NOW

[hunter]

2. A giant strip mine is hardly "green" however it powers its trucks.

South Africa produce 80% of the world's platinum, typically burning coal to refine it.

This is typical corporate greenwashing. A few hydrogen powered trucks might be "cool" but they don't in any meaningful way make Anglo American Plc a "green" company.

Since electrolysis itself is such an inefficient process the electricity from these solar panels would best be used in the local electric power grid, where it would reduce carbon emissions even more than it would if used to power hydrogen fueled hybrid trucks.

But it's not about reducing carbon emissions, it's about publicity. Hydrogen fueled trucks grab headlines. Grid-tied solar doesn't.

[Caribbeans]

3. Reality

A giant strip mine is hardly "green" however it powers its trucks.

Are you somehow under the impression that mining will stop someday?

This is typical corporate greenwashing. A few hydrogen powered trucks might be "cool" but they don't in any meaningful way make Anglo American Plc a "green" company.

Post after post on this very forum - and many others - say SOMETHING - ANYTHING MUST BE DONE IMMEDIATELY OR CITIES WILL BE UNDERWATER

So some actual real-life pioneers start to actually DO SOMETHING yet it's "greenwashing".

You'd rather these huge mining trucks keep burning diesel?

Since electrolysis itself is such an inefficient process the electricity from these solar panels would best be used in the local electric power grid, where it would reduce carbon emissions even more than it would if used to power hydrogen fueled hybrid trucks.

First, efficiency is important but because the energy comes from renewables it is not critical like with a barrel of oil, which is not renewable.

Many people value convenience and pay for it daily. For example, a traveling sales person would gladly pay more to fuel their car in 5 minutes rather than take 30 minutes out of their day to sit around a charger waiting for electrons. And what if that charger has a line? Which will be common thing, and already is around chargers in heavily populated areas. Some people will never want to spend a big portion of their lives re-charging. Ever.

You are also ignoring those times when the GRID CANNOT ACCEPT ANY MORE ENERGY- presently renewables are CURTAILED during these times - which will happen more frequently as more renewables come on line.

LA TIMES 2017: California invested heavily in solar power. Now there's so much that other states are sometimes paid to take it
https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-electricity-solar/

But it's not about reducing carbon emissions, it's about publicity. Hydrogen fueled trucks grab headlines. Grid-tied solar doesn't.

Any guess as to why Stanford just announced the following?

May 6, 2022: Stanford University launches research initiative on hydrogen as a climate solution.

The Stanford Energy Hydrogen Initiative will fund research to evaluate hydrogen’s role in the transition to sustainable energy and the technologies, policies, and financial mechanisms to fulfill that role.
https://news.stanford.edu/2022/05/06/research-initiative-hydrogen-decarbonization/

You know, because some tech didn't tick all the boxes in the 1980's doesn't mean it's "useless"

It's 2022 and there is a hydrogen energy revolution UNDER WAY RIGHT NOW that is going to change the world. Some of those who are stuck in a world that was 40 years ago are totally missing the boat.

And speaking of boats:

"greenwashing" lol

[NNadir]

4. We can minimize mining - which is essentially raping future generations - by avoiding idiot hype.

The idiot hype is that so called "renewable energy" is, in fact, "renewable." The mining requirements of this scam define why it is unsustainable. Low energy to mass ratios and unreliability make for environmentally odious systems.

One could also improve on idiot hype by learning the laws of thermodynamics. Anyone familiar with those laws would hardly find themselves in the position of applauding the rather filthy hydrogen industry and posting videos applauding this horrible environmental disaster.

The first chapter of this book, contains the words "exergy destruction" 41 times, and that's just the first chapter.

Like so called "renewable energy" the hydrogen fantasy is nothing more than an expensive shell game - worse than 3 card Monty - to entrench the dangerous fossil fuel industry.

Destroying exergy because one watches too many cartoons and slick videos is not helpful in an environmental sense; it's quite the opposite, it is making things worse, not better.

Rather than embrace cartoons, and slick but misleading videos one might open a science book, or even type the term "thermodynamics of hydrogen production" in Google scholar and glance at the titles that come up, all of which talk about the consumption of energy to produce this fantasy.

Even the moron Joe Romm gets it, and he's clearly not the brightest bulb on the planet.