White Papers

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To help mine's decarbonize their mining operations, they will need "round - the - clock" renewable power and process heat. Technologies like 247Solar can provide the necessary electrical and thermal (250C) requirements for the mine's existing and future (mine electrification) power needs and thermal processes like ore/concentrate/pellet drying, etc. These thermal processes have been difficult in the past to decarbonize as they typically operate on expensive fossil fuels (diesel, HFO, coal, natural gas) that generate significant GHG's and other harmful emissions   

Material movement using diesel haul trucks is a major energy and operating expense within the mining industry and a significant contributor to the site's GHG emissions (0.096 kgCO2e/tonne-km). Haul trucks are also a very inefficient way of moving ore and other payloads. In comparison, conveyors (0.022 kgCO2e/tonne-km) and electric trains like Railveyor (0.012 kgCO2e/tonne-km) provide cost effective and lower carbon intensity alternatives to using diesel haul trucks to move ore, waste and other materials..

Thermal batteries provide the opportunity to reduce GHG emissions from Mining thermal processes by utilizing renewable energy resources like solar, wind, etc or grid electricity. Technologies like   Rondo's  Heat Battery uses electric heating elements, similar those in a toaster or oven, to turn power when it’s available into high-temperature heat . This high temperature heat is then stored in thermal bricks and delivered as superheated air (1000C) when needed for processes  like steam production  and  other high  temperature processing applications    

In the Mining Industry, the calcination process is used in the production of lime and the decomposition of lithium bearing minerals (spodumene) to make lithium more chemically reactive for further processing. Not only do these processes produce CO2 from the fuels (diesel, coal, HFO, natural gas) they burn but the chemical reactions also produce CO2. Calix's patented core platform technology delivers efficient indirect heating of minerals, the ability to use of renewable electricity for heating and the simplification of carbon capture from the raw materials without additional chemicals or processes. 

E-fuels (electrofuels) and synthetic fuels like E-Diesel are a new class of liquid and gaseous fuels produced using electricity, CO2 and hydrogen, offering a potentially lower-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. The carbon intensity associated with the the production of these fuels is highly dependent on where the electricity comes from (grid vs renewable) and the source of the CO2 (Direct Air Capture vs Carbon Capture from Processes). These drop in fuels have similar heating values and performance as their fossil fuel counterparts and can utilize the same fuel infrastructure.