MINE POWER
designed to handle the toughest underground mining conditions in Australia , according to the companies .
Siemens will provide its Sicharge UC high power DC chargers , which boast a flexible output range from 125-600 kW with five frontends on each station as well as pantograph charging . One of Siemens ’ Sicharge UC200 chargers , which can deliver 200 kW of power , is already on site at Murray Engineering headquarters in Pinjarra , Western Australia .
The flexible , high power range of Siemens ’ Sicharge UC portfolio enables the charging stations to scale to light , medium and heavy vehicles , it said .
Aggreko ’ s Whyte says smart power management is key in this type of electrified mining environment to ensure a mine ’ s electricity supply is more efficient , resilient and environmentally friendly than ever .
This is where software tied to microgrids able to react automatically within milliseconds to meet changes in generation demand is vital , allowing operations to switch to a back-up power source should an interruption occur with an energy input .
“ Another increasingly important element for mines is battery storage systems ,” he said . “ A battery can provide peak power for large demand spikes like shovel walks in milliseconds – without the need to bring additional generation online . A battery can also buffer intermittencies in renewable generation , effectively becoming a ‘ Swiss army knife ’, providing practical solutions to a broad range of issues .”
Ready for hydrogen ?
The introduction of hydrogen into the sector may change the dynamic somewhat .
Many government-backed industry collaborations are going on across the globe to create ‘ green hydrogen ’ blueprints that could then be translated for the mining industry .
As has been well documented , ENGIE is helping Anglo American on its hydrogen haul truck project at
Mogalakwena , which could see first movement next year in a display the industry is watching with interest .
Anglo has also mooted that hydrogen could play a bigger role in its power mix across its operations .
On the topic of hydrogen developments , Bambawale drew on her experience of the solar market to outline the fuel ’ s expected trajectory in the mining sector .
“ Hydrogen is at the dawn of its era , maybe similar
to solar PV in the early 90s ,” she said . “ This means that it is currently a solution that can make sense in some situations , but not necessarily across all types of mining .
“ However , while this technology is in an early phase , we should not underestimate the massive cost reductions that will happen for hydrogen applications once the solutions scale up .”
Wärtsilä is already investing in hydrogen , having developed a combustion process in its gas engines to enable them to burn 100 % hydrogen fuel . This
followed more than 20 years of research on the fuel and testing its engines with blends of up to 60 % hydrogen and 40 % natural gas .
Fortescue is also backing hydrogen , with numerous projects including the conversion of a fleet of hydrogen coaches at its Western Australia site .
ABB and Hydrogen Optimized have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the development of large-scale green hydrogen production systems connected to the electrical grid to offer a clean , sustainable and affordable energy source for industries such as mining .
There is clearly momentum behind this energy source and , while White says Aggreko is not expecting broad commercial implementation of hydrogen power solutions in the mine power space in the next five years , he did say the fuel plays an important role in the company ’ s future decarbonisation strategy : “ particularly green hydrogen , where electrolysis is powered by renewable energy ”.
He added : “ We are currently investing in pilot projects to understand its potential and limitations as a fuel for our customers . We are also exploring how we can integrate green hydrogen into our fleet , and how we can combine it with renewables and battery storage to build efficient and resilient hybrid systems , which simultaneously help our customers to achieve
their sustainability goals .”
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