First Mode builds FC dump truck drives with ABB batteries

US-based First Mode has contracted ABB to supply 80 battery systems with a total capacity of 2.6 MWh for a fleet of zero-emission dump trucks for mining operations. The Bordline ESS lithium-ion systems will be used in converted dump trucks with combined fuel cell-battery propulsion.

+ + Kindly see our update below + +

The batteries will be used both to increase the trucks’ peak power when driving uphill and to store recuperation energy when driving downhill. The order follows tests with a prototype of this dump truck, which was used in a platinum mine in South Africa, according to the ABB release. There, it said, the prototype proved itself and showed that a combined fuel cell-battery drive for heavy-duty vehicles was a real alternative to diesel.

The vehicle in question was the result of a collaboration between several companies and was unveiled in May 2022. In addition to First Mode for the drive, the mining and raw materials company Anglo American also cooperated with the fuel cell specialist Ballard and the energy company Engie. In March 2023, Anglo American decided to convert further dump trucks – and initially ordered fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems for this purpose. Now the next drive component follows with the first-mode order to ABB.

“The mining environment presents a unique combination of high-power charge and discharge, continuous operation, and significant thermal management challenges that are not found in many other applications,” says Krunal Desai, director of electrical engineering at First Mode. “ABB’s ESS technology is an ideal fit for this application, with excellent power performance and inherent safety.”

“Our solutions – which include not just batteries, but also drives and motors for heavy industry mobility – bring a major advantage in that they’re highly customizable and easy to integrate. Together with First Mode, we are able to demonstrate the technology in the extremely demanding application of zero-emission mining haul trucks,” says Edgar Keller, head of ABB’s Traction division.

Update 5 June 2023:

First Mode has ordered another 60 fuel cell modules from Ballard Power Systems for the conversion of dump trucks. The new modules with a total capacity of 6 MW are to be delivered in 2024. This is, according to Ballard, “an extension of the relationship, following an order for 35 modules to power ultra-class hybrid hydrogen and battery mining vehicles in 2023”. This first order dates from this March, as indicated above.

abb.com, firstmode.com, ballard.com (update)