BOC is set to provide hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure for the first fleet of hydrogen coaches at Fortescue Metals Group’s Christmas Creek iron ore mine in Western Australia.
Under the $32 million agreement, BOC will supply ITM electrolysers and a Linde hydrogen refuelling station at the remote mine site.
The electrolysers will have the capacity to produce up to 180 kilograms of renewable hydrogen a day to power 10 hydrogen fuel cell coaches.
The coaches will transport 3000 workers to and from the mine site every day, making Christmas Creek the first Australian mine to deploy hydrogen for transport.
“BOC is proud to be the chosen partner in this exciting project that will demonstrate how renewable hydrogen can be used as a fuel for heavy vehicles in remote environments,” BOC South Pacific managing director John Evans said.
“Mining is a 24/7 operation which, together with the remoteness of the site means that reliability is essential.
“BOC provided a solution that recognised the criticality of the application and we collaborated with Fortescue to design an application to protect the electrolyser and refueller from the environment in the Pilbara region.”
The project is expected to complete in early 2022.