Shanghai-based enterprise Shenergy Group Co Ltd recently unveiled the world's largest hydrogen-powered mining truck in terms of tonnage as part of its commitment to building a domestic hydrogen energy manufacturing value chain.

Jointly developed by Shenergy, Zoomlion Mining, Hongzhen Intelligence and Kunhua Technology, the massive mining truck adopts high-performance hydrogen fuel cell engine systems provided by Kunhua and can substantially reduce operating costs of such vehicles, it said. The company vowed to continuously create more hydrogen solutions as China sees increasing usage of renewable energy across the mining sector as part of efforts to achieve a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.

An analyst said China's mining sector is taking active measures to pursue industry transition and achieve a low-carbon production plan.

While reducing the carbon footprint of the mining sector is a major task worldwide, the application of hydrogen in the mining sector might develop faster compared with that of private vehicles, as the routes of mining trucks are usually fixed, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

Hydrogen-powered trucks are a good start but need closer inspection, and it is also necessary to encourage more applications of green hydrogen, or hydrogen produced from clean energy including solar and wind power, rather than grey hydrogen, or hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, Lin said.

The company has set up a joint venture with France-based Plastic Omnium in Shanghai in January to manufacture and market type III and IV high-pressure hydrogen storage systems for the commercial vehicle market in China. The two parties also signed a memorandum of understanding to extend strategic cooperation around building hydrogen ecosystems and contributing to a road map for carbon neutrality in China. Shenergy also signed an agreement with Shell (China) Ltd last year to form a JV — Shanghai Shenergy and Shell New Energy Co Ltd — to invest in a network of hydrogen refueling stations in Shanghai, Shell's first hydrogen refueling network in Asia. The company vowed to build a full value chain that covers production, storage, transportation, refueling and utilization of hydrogen, through collaborations with more partners to support the development of hydrogen and contribute to the energy transition of Shanghai and China.