Evaluating Feasibility of Incorporating Fuel Cell Drive Trains into Existing Haul Trucks

Abstract Hydrogen, as a fuel source in material handling, has become a viable option for achieving carbon reduction targets. The objective of this work was to apply vehicle drive train and energy simulation in MATLAB/Simulink to guide a discussion of the challenges and opportunities of incorporating hydrogen fuel cell drive trains into the current form factors of mine haul trucks. We built and validated a model based on the Komatsu 830-E truck and used it to estimate the hydrogen requirements for typical short-haul, medium-haul, and long-haul cycles; in the short-haul case (cycle time = 852 s) the truck consumed 23.6 L of diesel compared to 17,729 L of hydrogen at standard temperature and pressure (STP), and in the medium-haul case it consumed 29.0 L of diesel compared to 24,081 L of hydrogen at STP. We also estimated the size of the required fuel cell stack based on power, voltage, and current demands. The results show that the truck requires 75.98–110.16 L and 37.99–55.08 L of hydrogen at 350 and 700 bars, respectively, compared to 23.60–82.92 L of diesel. To retrofit a diesel haul truck with a hydrogen fuel cell drive train with the same driving range, the most likely pressure for hydrogen storage must be 700 bars. Even at 700 bars, the current diesel trucks do not have adequate space to install the hydrogen storage, fuel cell stack, and other components of the fuel cell drive train to allow for retrofitting them as hydrogen fuel cell trucks. Thus, the mining industry’s adoption of hydrogen fuel cell trucks will likely require a more extensive redesign with significant investment from original equipment manufacturers. Additionally, mining companies that adopt hydrogen fuel cell trucks must address safety and security risks and invest in hydrogen storage and transportation infrastructure.