ON THE PATH TO ZERO™
Decarbonization innovator First Mode develops and manufactures clean energy solutions for heavy industry, including the mining sector, which contributes 4-7% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually.
In 2022, First Mode in partnership with Anglo American debuted the world’s largest zero-emissions truck by retrofitting a Komatsu ultra-class mining haul truck. With a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell and lithium-ion battery engine, the truck’s only byproduct is water.
Since then, First Mode has signed a supplier agreement with Anglo American to retrofit Anglo’s global fleet of ultra-class haul trucks with First Mode’s decarbonization solutions.
FIRST MODE’S DECARBONIZATION SOLUTIONS
In 2023, First Mode launched a diversified product mix of vehicle retrofits, enabling diesel hybrid, battery electric, and hydrogen fuel cell systems to accelerate their customers along the Path to Zero™. This approach brings three distinct advantages.
- Economics: First Mode’s retrofit kit offerings are designed for customers to meet their decarbonization targets with the trucks that they already have. Mining haul trucks are an enormous investment but last a long time thanks to periodic engine replacements. With the company’s Path to Zero™ program, First Mode makes the transition convenient by adding a regenerative battery to an existing diesel vehicle as a first step before proceeding to a fully electric retrofit offering. This diverse product offering can meet an array of customer conditions, locations, and vehicle types.
- Performance: Benchmark testing proves that the responsiveness and refueling speed of First Mode’s retrofit solutions holds operational parity with diesel.
- Sustainability: Each zero-emission retrofit solution is the equivalent of taking 700 passenger vehicles off the road annually, helping companies meet their decarbonization targets with minimal disruption to their normal production routines.
A GLOBAL TEAM BUILDING A GLOBAL SOLUTION
First Mode was founded in 2018 by eleven people in Seattle (USA). Since then, the company has grown to nearly 400 employees, with offices in London (England), Perth (Australia), Johannesburg (South Africa),and Santiago (Chile), as well as in Seattle. The zero-emissions haul truck earned the company the 2022 GeekWire “Innovation of the Year” award and Fast Company’s 2023 “World Changing Ideas” award in the Midsize Company category. Also in 2023, First Mode established a smart manufacturing facility in south Seattle and proving grounds to test and refine its product line in the nearby city of Centralia. First Mode will begin commercial deployments of their retrofit solutions beginning in 2025.
THE SOURCE OF THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION
As demand increases for copper and platinum, plus other critical minerals needed to power the clean energy transition, First Mode’s solutions are facilitating global decarbonization—at the source. With additional applications on the horizon, First Mode is poised to make a dramatic impact on climate change by helping accelerate a diesel-free future for heavy industry and beyond.
