Led by vehicle Projects LLC, a government-industry consortium is proposing a project to develop and demonstrate a zero-emission, fuelcell-powered coalmine vehicle. The vehicle’s fuel will be derived from coalbed methane from the mine in which it operates.

This project can strongly benefit both labor and industry. The vehicle will provide a health benefit to miners by replacing diesel-powered equipment with emissions-free, quiet fuelcell power. Moreover, the fuelcell-battery hybrid will provide the safety benefit of being able to produce oxygen from water and thus serve as a mobile emergency oxygen source underground. Ideally, a method of emergency oxygen production is to run the fuelcell in reverse by the traction battery and produce oxygen at the fuelcell cathode. While benefiting both the health and safety of miners, it will equal or exceed the productivity of a diesel vehicle. Hydrogen fuel, stored safely onboard the vehicle as a reversible metal hydride, will be produced aboveground from coalbed methane. With the current high price of diesel fuel, production of fuel from a byproduct of mining will afford a significant cost savings to industry.

The overall project, executed in four phases, is estimated to require five years and a budget of $6.4 million to complete. The four phases are summarized as follows:

Phase 1 – Feasibility Study. Compare the health and safety and resulting mine economics of fuelcell, diesel, and tethered coalmine vehicles. Workplace health analyses will include (a) estimated reduction in vehicle emissions and noise, (b) feasibility of reducing mine ventilation cost if diesels were replaced by fuelcell vehicles. Safety analyses will include (a) onboard fuel safety, (b) fuel-handling safety, (c) powerplant safety, (d) safety of the aboveground methane-based hydrogen production plant, (e) vehicle operating safety, e.g., safety comparison of fuelcell and high-voltage tethered vehicles, (f) human-error vulnerability, and (g) feasibility of onboard oxygen production by a hybrid powerplant. Evaluate the chemical-purity requirements and economic feasibility of coalmine and coalbed methane as feedstock for hydrogen production. Select the platform vehicle – for example, scoop, shield mover, mantrip, or shuttle car – and one or more demonstration sites for the vehicle and its refueling system. Cost: $900 thousand. Duration: 1 year.

Phase 2 – Engineering design of fuelcell vehicle and refueling system.

Phase 3 – Fabricate the fuelcell coalmine vehicle and methane-based refueling system.

Phase 4 – Demonstrate the fuelcell vehicle and refueling system in one or more working coalmines

The project’s core consortium has been recruited and funding has been formally requested from our proposed government partner for Phase 1.

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Project Phases 1-4