Recently, China’s first hydrogen-electric hybrid autonomous heavy-haul mining dump truck has completed its full-process road test simulation at the CHN Energy Beidian Shengli Energy Co., Ltd.
Xilinhot City of Inner Mongolia, the base of Shengli Energy, is well-suited for solar power or wind-to-hydrogen (green hydrogen) production due to its abundant solar and wind resources. In the context of the “dual carbon” goal, Shengli Energy has been upholding the principle of clean, low-carbon, and intelligent development to explore methods for green and decarbonized production. This hydrogen-powered mining truck, fully developed and tested by Shengli Energy, has achieved top domestic standards in stack power density, hydrogen capacity, and output power, securing six national patents.
The mining truck, with an unladen weight of 90 tonnes and a load capacity of 110 tonnes, features an integrated steer-by-wire chassis with a 360-degree panoramic-view camera and autonomous driving systems. It marks the first deployment of integrated “cloud computing + artificial intelligence” in new energy trucks, addressing an industry gap in autonomous mining trucks for open-pit coal mining. The mining truck’s power system includes four 140 kW hydrogen fuel cells reactor and lithium iron phosphate batteries , achieving a maximum output of 900 kW. The rear of the cab is equipped with a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage system with a total hydrogen capacity of 5,052 liters, weighing 203 kilograms. So far, it has completed vehicle assembly, hydrogen refueling, and road test simulation at no-load, half-load and full-load conditions, with a cumulative test distance of 600 kilometers.
The hydrogen fuel cell is a power generation device that converts chemical energy from hydrogen and oxygen directly into electrical power, producing only water during transportation and offering a viable alternative to diesel in vehicles. Under rigorous road test, the hydrogen-powered mining truck completed full-load operations with hydrogen-electric hybrid power and achieved “pure water” emissions through the reverse reaction of electrolyzed water, fulfilling the green and low-carbon goals of zero-emission for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. This innovation has set a precedent for “zero carbon emissions” in heavy-haul autonomous mining trucks. Annual projections indicate that a single hydrogen-powered mining truck can save 320,000 liters of diesel and reduce carbon emissions by over 230 tonnes.
