World’s largest electric vehicle is a 290-ton dump truck with a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell engine which is set to roll out at a South African platinum mine
- Mining company Anglo American will use the world’s biggest electric vehicle
- The 290 ton dump truck will work at a platinum mine in South Africa
- The truck will use both a lithium-ion battery and hydrogen fuel cells
A international mining company has announced it will debut the world’s largest electric vehicle at one of its platinum mines in South Africa.
Called the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, it will weigh around 290 tons and is more than six times heavier than the second biggest electric vehicle in the world, a 45-ton ‘eDumper’ used to move lime and marlstone around an unrelated mining facility in Switzerland.
The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle was designed with a hybrid engine design that uses both a lithium-ion battery and hydrogen fuel cells, which replace the conventional diesel engine vehicles typically used at mines.
The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (pictured above) is the world’s largest electric vehicle, set to be put into regular use at the Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa later this year
The truck will have combined energy stores of 1,000 Kilowatt-hours, and the only waste byproduct created by the engine is water, which is only produced when it’s running on hydrogen fuel.
The truck will also have the capacity to recapture small amounts of kinetic energy from its braking system to charge its lithium-ion battery, according to a report in Popular Mechanics.
The truck will be put to use later this year at the Mogalakwena mine, one of South Africa’s largest platinum reserves where more than 310,000 ounces of platinum are extracted every year.
The mine is run by Anglo American, an international mining conglomerate that produces 40 percent of the world’s platinum, and also mines diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and coal.
Anglo American has publicly promised to reduce its global greenhouse emissions 30 percent by 2030 and believes increasing the company’s use of electric vehicles could help it reach that goal.
The Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa is one of the country’s largest platinum reserves, responsible for more than 310,000 ounces of platinum production a year
The mine is operated by Anglo American, one of the world’s largest mining company that produces 40 percent of the planet’s platinum
For the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, the company partnered with Williams Advanced Engineering, a London-based company that does work on a variety of energy efficiency and automotive projects.
Williams also designs batteries for electric race cars that compete in the FIA Extreme E racing circuit, and used that technology as the starting point for the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle.
‘We are delighted to be involved in this innovative and exciting project which showcases the scalability of battery technology from automotive and motorsport to “heavy duty” industrial applications,’ Williams’s Craig Wilson said in a prepared statement.
‘Operating within a harsh environment is something we are familiar with as sole battery supplier for the Extreme E program and we remain committed to supporting long-term sustainability projects.’