Hydrogen for Mines - Collaboration is Key

Energy and Mines: What recent hydrogen market developments are most relevant for mining operators?

Koen Langie: Probably the fact that important industrial players have started to join forces to accelerate the scale-up of the Hydrogen economy. The creation of the Hydrogen Council seems to have been a good initiative and platform for such collaborations to occur. For the mining operators, this means that Hydrogen applications will reach the scale and price that they require, a lot faster than originally estimated. And thus providing a valid alternative solution within their decarbonization plans.

E&M: What are some of the common questions you receive from mines interested in exploring hydrogen options?

KL: When would it be available at scale and at a competitive price? Is it safe? What about local regulation? How does it impact my operations on site?

E&M: What opportunities are opening up for Australian miners to take the lead on hydrogen projects given the current enthusiasm for building Australia’s hydrogen economy?

KL: Australia has a huge growth capacity for renewables which today is not yet fully explored, mainly because they are limiting its use to the grid. Once renewables can be used to supply H2 as a fuel to the mines, economies of scale will trigger an optimization of energy costs, fuel and electricity. This will help the Australian miners to have an increased competitiveness, and in addition they will get positive returns for their CSR and environmental programs. It’s a win-win situation.

E&M: In your view, which application (power, transport or processing) will gain the most traction with resource companies in the near-term and why?

KL: Difficult to say. Actually, all three could grow rapidly in the near-term, but it will depend on the willingness of the local governments to enable and promote the use of such clean technologies, as well as the OEMs proactivity to make the technology transition at their side. The technology is ready, we just need to bring the pieces together at scale.

E&M: Can you share some examples of mining companies currently evaluating hydrogen projects.

KL: An example could be the Chilean government who is promoting the use of H2 technologies within the mining sector via two technology programs, and soon they will launch a new initiative, a Clean Technology Institute, which is a 10-year development program for new renewable applications within the mining sector, including H2.

E&M: What key barriers need to be overcome before hydrogen becomes “business as usual” for mines, as we are starting to see with renewables?

KL: Awareness and collaboration, both the mines and OEMs need to become aware, at all levels of their organization, that the switch to Hydrogen based fuels is feasible and a lot sooner than they imagine. On the other side, they need to be open to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, being mines, OEMs, utilities, authorities and technology providers.

E&M: What fundamentals are required to support the business case for a mine to consider hydrogen - mine life, energy as a portion of operating costs, transport costs, carbon targets, etc.?

KL: Each mine is different and has specific energy requirements, the combination of hydrogen and renewables allows us to provide tailor-made and flexible solutions. So a long lifetime is off course helpful, but not a musthave. Actually, we just need the willingness from the mine to really take the time and the effort to evaluate the business case at a total cost of operation level.