How Hybrid Airships Can Help Mining Companies Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

author: Dr Grant Cool, CEO, AT2 Aerospace

Greenhouse gas emissions are a critical contributor to climate change and rising temperatures. People around the world are already enduring severe weather events, from crippling heat waves, droughts, and wildfires to heavy rains and flooding. Each year the world suffers both larger weather disaster events and higher costs.[1] And it’s only expected to get worse. If global warming reaches the projected 3°C above pre-industrial levels, future generations face an unimaginable catastrophe.[2]

This has spurred international and industry initiatives to reduce emissions. For example, in the mining sector, in 2021, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) committed to a goal of net zero direct emissions by 2050.[3] But meeting these net zero goals is no simple task. It requires a clear roadmap with concrete milestones, and creative strategies to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels.

Transitioning to electrification is one way to do that. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electrification has “significant potential to mitigate emissions and decarbonize energy supply chains” and is “an important strategy to reach net zero goals.”[4]

For mining companies, electrification presents two major opportunities:

1.     Decarbonize the mining operation itself.

2.     Target minerals required for electrification.

Hybrid airships can support both goals—providing cost-effective cargo transportation with zero emissions.

“Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas—are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and
nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.”
[5]

Hybrid airships are the cargo transportation of the future

Using Helium for lift and electric motors powered by hydrogen-as-fuel, hybrid airships have large-volume cargo bays and the capacity to transport heavy payloads. They’re capable of operating almost anywhere, even in the most remote and inaccessible locations. Plus, they don’t require expensive infrastructure and aren’t contingent on seasonal weather conditions like ice roads and open seaways.

Three ways hybrid airships can drive the future of mining

Airships can help mining operations lower their capital costs. They can also reduce mining’s impact on the environment and local communities and support the global energy transition to electrification.

1. Lower capital investments for new mining projects

Mining is a capital-intensive business, particularly in remote areas. Depending on the location, companies need to invest in extensive infrastructure, including roads, airports, railways, ports, power plants, fuel storage, and accommodation facilities, just to name some of the larger cost items. In Canada, the capital costs of northern mines can be double that of southern mines, which are connected to the existing transportation and electricity grid. This “cost premium is directly linked to the lack of infrastructure in these areas” and is a significant obstacle to operating in Canada’s remote and northern regions.[6]

$670 billion

The approximate operating expenses of the 40 leading mining companies in 2022
was $670 billion.
[7]

Mining companies that lower their capital costs will increase the viability of new operations, make operations profitable more quickly, give themselves a competitive edge, and attract further institutional investments.

Fortunately, hybrid airships present a unique opportunity to reduce transportation infrastructure costs. Instead of requiring large capital to build roads into remote locations, mining companies could use low-impact hybrid airships to deliver the machinery and supplies they need, and in many cases bring their product to market.

AT² hybrid airships have an air cushion landing system, which works like a hovercraft, so they can land and take off from almost any location, even open water. With a range of more than 2,400 kilometers, they can provide direct and faster cargo transportation than land and sea alternatives, without the expense of building permanent infrastructure.

50%

Airship technology could cut freight rates by 50%.[8]

 

$200 million

Airships could save $200 million over a 20-year period compared to truck transportation on gravel roads when moving 200,000 tons of concentrate per year.”[9]

2. Reduced developmental impacts for the environment and local communities

When developing new mines, companies must consider the impact of development on wildlife, watersheds, and remote communities. They need permits or permission from the people who live there and plans for decommissioning the mine so that the landscape is returned to its former state as much as possible. Traditional transportation solutions that require permanent infrastructure take considerable time and expense to implement, but also make the decommissioning process more complex.

Hybrid airships can help minimize the environment and social impacts of mining, protecting the natural beauty and unique ecosystems where critical and strategic minerals are being extracted. They operate quietly and safely, without disturbing the wildlife or people living nearby, or polluting the landscape with toxic emissions.

Because hybrid airships don’t have large infrastructure needs, they can reduce the footprint of a mine, decrease fuel storage requirements and waste, and lower the number of people onsite, helping mining companies achieve their decarbonization goals. They can also ‘disappear’ easily at the end of the mine’s life—unlike roads, ports, railways, and airstrips. Able to move on to new projects anywhere in the world, hybrid airships are both highly flexible and highly effective infrastructure.

3. Greater scalability to support pivoting toward enabling electrification

As noted above, mining exploration and development in remote areas is limited in large part by the high cost of building all the necessary infrastructure up front. This makes it difficult for mining companies wanting to diversify their locations or switch their focus to the strategic minerals used for electrification.

On top of the logistics and cost problems, mining companies also face geopolitical challenges as they work to secure access to critical minerals. Canada, for example, has tremendous untapped sources of minerals used in batteries, electric motors, and systems. But most of these sources are in very remote areas. Hybrid airships can deliver immediate access, allowing traditional infrastructure to be built over longer periods of time, if ever.

Even in the search for new sources of critical minerals, hybrid airships equipped with advanced imaging and surveying technologies can assist companies with efficient resource exploration and assessment in challenging terrain, without the need for extensive ground preparation.

Airships also offer sustainable cargo transportation that is more scalable than traditional options. Available in a range of sizes—with load capacities ranging from a single large truck or cargo plane to the equivalent of dozens of planes—airships can help mining companies take a modular approach to infrastructure, building only what they need for each phase. The result? Faster and more efficient operations across the value chain, through exploration, construction, production, and closure.

Hybrid airships deliver on net zero goals

Mining companies must accelerate their decarbonization efforts, reducing their carbon footprint and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, if they are going to meet ICMM net zero goals by 2050.

Because airships require less infrastructure, they can enable mining operations to reduce upfront capital costs and increase revenue faster, with the added benefit of substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They can transport heavy equipment to and from remote locations, operating with zero carbon emissions when running on hydrogen-as-fuel. Additionally, they can help mining companies demonstrate a commitment to sustainable and environment-friendly practices, enhance the business’s public image, and promote positive stakeholder engagement.

Hybrid airships offer an unparalleled cargo transportation solution for mining companies. As well as providing a path to meeting the industry’s 2050 net zero commitments, they can also support global electrification initiatives. AT2 Aerospace is proud to be at the forefront of this revolutionary technology.

If you’d like to learn more about how hybrid airships could support mining operations, feel free to reach out to us at info@at2aero.space or visit our website: https://at2aero.space/


[1] https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/01/dozens-of-billion-dollar-weather-disasters-hit-earth-in-2022/

[2] https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/43923/EGR2023_ESEN.pdf?sequence=10

[3] https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/our-work/environmental-resilience/climate-change/net-zero-commitment

[4] https://www.iea.org/energy-system/electricity/electrification

[5] https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change

[6] https://mining.ca/resources/press-releases/high-costs-and-lack-infrastructure-inhibiting-exploration-and-mining/

[7] https://www.statista.com/statistics/208723/operating-expenses-of-the-top-mining-companies/

[8] https://supplychainmb.ca/resource/the-potential-use-of-cargo-airships-to-reduce-the-cost-of-transporting/

[9] https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/5301

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