First Mode, a global carbon reduction company that developed the world’s first integrated battery and hydrogen fuel cell powerplants for retrofitting diesel-powered mining trucks, has established a proving ground in Centralia, Washington, to accelerate the transition to clean energy for heavy industry, thanks in part to a $250,000 grant from the state economic development strategic reserve fund.
The First Mode Proving Grounds will help the company optimize the next generation of hybrid hydrogen and battery-powered haul trucks, as well as the associated infrastructure for recharging and refueling, that will be deployed at mines around the world.
Centralia, a former coal mine site, is an ideal location, allowing haul trucks to operate in a true mining environment. First Mode, which manufactures its proprietary hybrid fuel cell battery powerplants in Seattle, plans to renovate and expand office and workshop space at the site which it leased from TransAlta.
The company announced plans in October for the proving grounds following the successful deployment of a proof-of-concept hydrogen mine haul truck at Anglo American’s platinum mine in Mogalakwena, South Africa in May 2022.
The standard version of these trucks, the height of three-story buildings, today consumes enormous amounts of diesel, emitting the equivalent pollutants of 700 passenger cars.
First Mode’s pilot retrofit solution is estimated to save 960 metric tons of diesel fuel per truck each year.
“We started with retrofitting a diesel engine with a clean energy powerplant in a single haul truck,” said First Mode CEO Julian Soles. “We are now scaling our capabilities and deployments to move the mining industry another step closer to decarbonization.”
Source: Washington State Department of Commerce
Image Source: First Mode