Modine Manufacturing Co. (Racine, WI) announced that it has been awarded a contract with Vehicle Projects LLC (Denver, CO) to supply thermal management hardware for a US Department of Energy (DOE) vehicle development and demonstration project. The nearly $8.6 million project will develop, manufacture and demonstrate a mine loader powered by a fuel cell, along with associated metal-hydride storage and refueling hardware.
The project was conceived by the Fuelcell Propulsion Institute and is managed by Vehicle Projects. Working with the DOE Golden Field Office in Golden, CO, the group will develop a 23 metric-ton, 160 kW, fuel cell battery hybrid mine loader. In the course of this three-and-a-half year project, Vehicle Projects and its subcontractors, including Modine, will manufacture this fuel cell/battery hybrid mine loader that will eventually be used in various North American mines. The mine loader will be used in tight spaces, up to 1,000 ft underground. Fuel cell technology is appealing because it is emission-free and environmentally friendly, producing only water.
