H2Boost can help maximise the value of diesel vehicles and offset costly fleet replacement programs.
Mining companies sit at a key inflection point as they look to balance fuel security and decarbonisation goals with operating large diesel-powered fleets. In this context, technologies that reduce emissions while preserving existing assets are attracting growing attention.
For H2Boost, the answer to these concerns lies in hydrogen supplementation technology that can be retrofitted to existing diesel engines, helping operators reduce fuel consumption, lower emissions and extend asset life without the need for major capital investment.
H2Boost general manager Roger van der Lee said the company’s technology provides mining operators with an opportunity to maximise the value of existing equipment while delaying costly fleet replacement.
“The technology is applicable for existing assets, so it provides an opportunity for high-value assets to have a full life cycle, deferring large capital costs for new technology, which doesn’t at this stage deliver the same level of productivity,” he said.
Hydrogen on demand is designed for large diesel engines and can be applied across a range of sectors, including mining, heavy transport, generators, marine applications and buses.
“What we offer to the mining industry is not dissimilar to what we’re offering to the truck market because they’re all diesel engines, just that the scale is bigger,” van der Lee said.
H2Boost’s offering utilises electrolysis through a proton exchange membrane to generate hydrogen from demineralised water. Powered by a low electrical input drawn from the host engine during operation, the system produces hydrogen that supplements diesel fuel to create a cleaner and more complete combustion process.
The amount of hydrogen generated is tailored to suit the capacity and operating requirements of each engine in an efficient, affordable and sophisticated way, scaled to apply to multiple applications.
While hydrogen fuel supplementation technology is already available in the market, van der Lee said H2Boost has refined the concept with additional features. These include the use of demineralised water, the elimination of chemicals, sophisticated electronic power and control systems and remote monitoring with interface capabilities.
“The unit is compact and robust, designed and built to withstand deployment in harsh environments,” van der Lee said.
“The unit does not store any hydrogen nor has any reliance on a pressure vessel. H2Boost is a retrofit unit which is not intrusive on the host engine and the engine is not dependent on H2Boost.”
For mining companies, the value proposition extends beyond emissions reduction. Customers are often motivated by a combination of economic and environmental outcomes.
“The lease model offered by H2Boost enables the cost savings derived from reduced fuel usage and potential longer service intervals for a cleaner engine to more than offset the cost of the fully maintained lease.”
The reduction in carbon emissions is two-fold, from saved fuel and from fuel consumed with a cleaner combustion while using hydrogen from H2Boost.
Combined with large reductions in particulate matter emissions the carbon footprint reduction for operations contributes to climate change mitigation initiatives and the client’s environmental social governance responsibility.
While hydrogen supplementation is widely viewed as a transitional technology, H2Boost believes it can play an important role as diesel remains a dominant power source for heavy equipment.
By enabling cleaner operation of diesel-powered machinery, the technology helps preserve asset value, extend equipment life and defer capital expenditure on alternative equipment.
H2Boost differentiates its product supply and service model with only minor upfront cost for installation, thereby avoiding capital expenditure allocation, and minimising barriers to adoption.
The system is supplied under a full-service model and includes a digital platform that provides emissions reporting, equipment uptime monitoring, product traceability and operational data.
It also features an app so drivers can monitor and manage the system to make sure it’s working and delivering the benefits of hydrogen fuel supplementation.
H2Boost’s hydrogen-on-demand technology is aimed at delivering carbon emission reductions in a commercially sustainable manner while helping operators extract greater value from their diesel fleets.