Cummins buys portion of specialty hydrogen mining company in bankruptcy sale
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Columbus-based Cummins Inc. is making moves in the mining industry with the acquisition of certain assets from First Mode LLC.
Based in Seattle, First Mode specializes in hydrogen-powered mining equipment—including large mining trucks. The acquisition will see Cummins purchase about 12% of First Mode, according to a Cummins spokesperson.
The cost of the deal was not disclosed by Cummins in its announcement, however bankruptcy filings show Cummins put in a stalking horse bid of $15 million for some of First Mode’s assets.
According to a news release, the assets Cummins is acquiring include:
- The First Mode brand
- First Mode’s hybrid mining and rail product lines
- First Mode’s portfolio of IP
- First Mode’s commercial portfolio
- First Mode’s manufacturing and testing facilities, some of which are in Washington
Additionally, First Mode’s employees in the U.S., Australia and Chile will shift over to Cummins.
Jenny Bush, president of power systems at Cummins, said in the release that the move is meant to support bridge technology that accelerates decarbonization.
“With hybrid retrofit kits, modular component upgrades and scalable solutions, we are bringing miners the flexibility and confidence they need to decarbonize operations while adapting to evolving technologies and infrastructure,” Bush said in the written statement.
In a message posted on First Mode’s website, the company says it continue shipping product through Q1 of 2025.
First Mode previously was bought by the global mining giant Anglo American in 2023, but Anglo American stopped funding the subsidiary in December. First Mode then filed for bankruptcy and Cummins came in to make its stalking horse offer.