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Anglo American in the driving seat with hydrogen car scheme

14 February, 2022

Anglo American is playing its part in a local pilot scheme designed to help speed up the adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles in the UK.

The company behind the Woodsmith polyhalite mine, being built near Whitby and on Teesside, has taken delivery of two Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell cars to use in its operations on the project.

The cars form part of the £2.5m Tees Valley Hydrogen Hub scheme, which will see a raft of major employers including the police, health workers and industrial companies testing out a range of hydrogen-powered vehicles in real world situations, using a new refuelling station at Teesside International Airport. 

“We are excited to be testing hydrogen fuel cell technology on the Woodsmith Project,” said Gareth Edmunds, Anglo American’s Corporate Relations Director.  “Anglo American is at the forefront of researching and developing the use of hydrogen power in the mining industry. We hope that, by taking part in this demonstration project, we can show that the technology works and there is a demand for it here in the Northeast.” 

The Hydrogen Transport Hub is being developed by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority in partnership with Teesside University and will form an innovation campus focused on clean energy research and development for cars, buses, trains, lorries, boats and planes. Tees Valley was announced as home to the UK’s first Hydrogen Transport Hub in September 2020.

“The trial of these vehicles and refuelling station is an important step in helping our region to become the UK’s first net zero industrial cluster,” said Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley.  “We are at the forefront  of developing cleaner, safer and healthier industries of the future, and it’s great that we have industry partners like Anglo American investing in our region to help us realise that vision.”

Anglo American has pledged to become carbon neutral across all global operations by 2040 and, through its Future Smart Mining programme, is pioneering several hydrogen initiatives around the world to help achieve that, including the development of hydrogen-powered mining trucks in South Africa and freight trains in Australia. The company also plans to generate hydrogen from electrolysis on many of its mine sites using renewable energy sources, and invests in a wide range of promising new fuel cell, hydrogen and energy-storage technologies and companies.

The Woodsmith Project currently employs over 1,000 people in Scarborough, Whitby and Teesside. It involves digging two 1-mile deep mine shafts at Woodsmith Mine near Whitby, and a 23 mile transportation tunnel to a processing facility and port on Teesside. Most of the surface infrastructure at Woodsmith Mine is being built underground and the site is being carefully landscaped in order to minimise the visual impact on the surrounding countryside. The mine will exploit a giant deposit of the mineral polyhalite, which will be sold as a natural, low carbon, environmentally friendly fertiliser.

For further information, please contact:

Media

Woodsmith Project
Maurice Rankin
[email protected]
+44 (0) 7795 483650

Notes to editors:

Anglo American is a leading global mining company and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers. With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely and sustainably.

As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and metallurgical coal for steelmaking, and nickel – with crop nutrients in development – we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. More broadly, our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals to ensure we work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives.

www.angloamerican.com

Forward-looking statements:

This announcement includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, those regarding Anglo American's financial position, business, acquisition and divestment strategy, dividend policy, plans and objectives of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives relating to Anglo American's products, production forecasts and Ore Reserves and Mineral Resource estimates) and environmental, social and corporate governance goals and aspirations, are forward-looking statements. By their nature, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Anglo American, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

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