Major decarbonisation projects in heavy industries typically involve prolonged timelines and significant capital investment to enable the energy transition. The hydrogen-diesel engine technology developed by a team led by Professor Shawn Kook and A/Professor Shaun Chan at UNSW, is a potentially impactful technology for Rio Tinto’s diesel-based emissions.
“Our hydrogen-diesel direct injection dual-fuel system allows diesel engines to be retrofitted to run primarily on hydrogen,” said Professor Kook.
“Rather than waiting decades for the development and application of a new fuel cell system, heavy industries that rely on diesel engines such as mining and agriculture are able to swiftly cut their carbon dioxide emissions and decarbonise to meet their net zero targets.”
The dual-fuel system allows diesel engines to run using up to 90 percent hydrogen with diesel as a pilot flame, immediately reducing carbon emissions by an impressive 77 percent.
Global mining company, Rio Tinto, committed to a goal of net zero from their operations by 2050. Rio Tinto is progressing technologies to support their journey towards a low carbon transition.
“Through this collaboration with UNSW supported by the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy, the team will deliver a useful tool in the energy transition that could be applicable to industries worldwide, sparing them from the need to replace newly purchased diesel vehicles years from replacement,” said Karl Malitz from Rio Tinto, noting that there are still challenges to overcome before the company can adopt this type of solution for its fleet.
Meeting industry demand
Recognising the limitations of electric vehicles in meeting the high uptime operational demands of heavy industries, A/Professor Chan anticipates high demand for this technology that converts existing diesel engines into hydrogen-diesel hybrids without the need for fleet disposal.
The new technology adds a hydrogen fuel injection directly into existing diesel engine. While hydrogen is being mixed with air inside the cylinder, a small amount of diesel injected to cause a diesel flame as igniter.
The UNSW team will now test this transformative technology in an engine supplied by Rio Tinto to see how it performs in large-scale mining equipment and vehicles.
“At the conclusion of this exciting new project, we’ll be able to demonstrate a new pathway to decarbonise existing diesel engines in the mining sector,” A/Professor Chan said.
“Once we can demonstrate the beneficial impact of the hydrogen fuel injection on Australian mining, agriculture and construction industries, we will be in a position to help other heavy industries reduce their carbon emissions without having to dispose of their expensive diesel fleet,” added Professor Kook.
“Working with Professor Kook and A/Professor Chan has been an excellent case study in the value of collaboration between universities and industry,” said Mr Malitz.
“Many of the decarbonisation challenges we face as an organisation are challenges across society, collaboration expands our potential solution pool, and allows us to explore more new solutions then working independently.”
Read more about Professor Kook and A/Professor Chan’s hydrogen-diesel direct injection dual-fuel system here
