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First Mode did not remain an independent clean-energy company exploring alternatives. After Anglo American stopped funding the Seattle-based developer of heavy-vehicle powertrains, First Mode pursued a sale, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 15, 2024, and ultimately sold most of its assets and staff to Cummins on February 11, 2025.
The outcome was a partial rescue of First Mode’s technology and operations—not a sale of the entire company or a continuation of its original business unchanged.
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What happened to First Mode?
First Mode was founded in 2018 as an employee-owned engineering company focused on difficult-to-decarbonize vehicles, including mining haul trucks and freight locomotives. Its work combined hybrid-electric, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell systems with controls, power electronics, energy management, manufacturing and field deployment.
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The company became closely tied to Anglo American, the global mining group pursuing lower-emission haulage. On January 5, 2023, Anglo American combined First Mode with technology associated with its nuGen zero-emission haulage program and became First Mode’s majority owner. Reporting described approximately $200 million in investment associated with the transaction and a broader combined-business valuation or transaction context of roughly $1.5 billion. Those figures should not automatically be treated as a simple purchase price.
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Anglo American later ended its funding for First Mode as part of a wider effort to prioritize capital, simplify its portfolio and focus on businesses including copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients. First Mode then hired financial and legal advisers and evaluated financing, recapitalization, reorganization, liquidation and sale alternatives.
The company received several expressions of interest, but could not find a buyer for the entire business. After discussions continued with a bidder interested in a significant portion of the technology and team, First Mode turned to Chapter 11. Court documents describe the filing as part of a court-supervised restructuring and asset-sale process.
The bankruptcy filing and board resolutions show that directors considered alternatives outside bankruptcy before concluding that Chapter 11 offered a more viable route.
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The documented explanation is capital prioritization and portfolio restructuring, not a public finding that First Mode’s technology had failed.
Anglo American was simultaneously pursuing disposals, demergers, cost reductions and a simpler portfolio. Its decision to stop funding First Mode therefore reflected the parent company’s changing capital-allocation priorities. It should not be described as Anglo American abandoning mine decarbonization altogether.
That distinction matters. A strategic investor can support an emerging technology while it is central to the parent’s plans, then withdraw funding when the parent changes its portfolio, investment horizon or tolerance for additional losses. The funding decision alone does not establish that a demonstration was technically invalid or commercially impossible.
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Anglo American’s broader restructuring context is described in its portfolio and capital-priority materials and its November 2024 simplification announcement.
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First Mode’s best-known work was the nuGen Haulage Solution, which included a converted Komatsu 930E haul truck at Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa. Mining-industry reporting said the truck completed a year of operations and was described as the first vehicle at that scale to undergo intensive successful testing as a fuel-cell electric vehicle.
First Mode’s technology portfolio included:
- Hybrid-electric retrofit systems for existing mining trucks.
- Battery-electric powertrain technology.
- Hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains.
- Controls, power electronics and energy-management systems.
- Manufacturing, testing, proving-ground and mine-site deployment capabilities.
- Powertrain solutions for mining and rail applications.
A successful demonstration, however, is not the same as widespread commercial deployment. Large mining fleets require reliable uptime, adequate payload, maintenance support, fueling or charging infrastructure and a competitive total cost of ownership. Hydrogen systems also require production, storage, transportation, refueling and safety infrastructure at or near mine sites.
Why did First Mode shift toward hybrid systems?
In January 2024, First Mode said it would place less emphasis on hydrogen-battery powertrains and focus more on hybrid diesel-battery systems. The rationale was practical: hybrids could offer a lower-cost, incremental way to reduce fuel consumption and emissions while hydrogen infrastructure and supply chains developed.
For mining operators, retrofit systems can avoid replacing an entire truck fleet or building a completely new energy ecosystem immediately. They may also fit more easily into existing operating routines and maintenance systems.
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The trade-off is that a diesel-battery hybrid is not a zero-emission vehicle. It retains an engine, fuel use, emissions and much of the existing maintenance complexity. Results also depend on the vehicle’s duty cycle, terrain, payload, operator behavior and the quality of system integration.
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Battery-electric systems offer high drivetrain efficiency and zero tailpipe emissions, but the largest haul trucks create difficult requirements for battery mass, thermal management, charging time, grid capacity and cycle life. Hydrogen fuel cells can be attractive for long operating hours and heavy vehicles, but their economics depend heavily on the price and availability of low-emission hydrogen.
First Mode’s pivot therefore reflected commercialization timing, infrastructure readiness and customer economics—not proof that hydrogen technology was unworkable.
What happened to First Mode’s employees and facilities?
First Mode announced a reduction of approximately 20% of its U.S. workforce in January 2024, followed by another reduction in August. Bankruptcy-related reporting later described a decline from approximately 228 employees to 66 over the preceding year. These figures describe different points during a rapidly changing restructuring and should not be treated as a single permanent headcount.
The company had a new clean-technology manufacturing facility in Seattle’s SoDo district, a proving ground near Centralia, Washington, and international operations and personnel in Australia, Chile and the United Kingdom. It also had an engineering and research presence in Perth, Australia, and a London office connected to its Anglo American relationship.
Reports have described the Seattle facility as approximately 40,000 to 45,000 square feet. Because published figures differ, it is safer to identify it as First Mode’s Seattle manufacturing facility rather than state one precise measurement.
Why did the strategic review become a bankruptcy sale?
First Mode’s objective initially appears to have been finding a new owner or another source of capital for the whole business. But its technology, customer programs, personnel, facilities, contracts and liabilities were interdependent, and potential buyers did not necessarily want the complete package.
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That created a difficult financing problem: the company needed funding to continue operating, but a buyer for the entire business did not materialize quickly enough. Chapter 11 gave First Mode a court-supervised process in which it could continue pursuing a transaction while marketing assets to potential buyers.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteCummins became the stalking-horse bidder. In a bankruptcy sale, a stalking-horse bidder makes an initial or baseline offer. That bid establishes a floor and agreed terms while allowing competing buyers to submit higher or better offers through an auction or other court-approved process. It is not necessarily the only bid, nor does it mean the bidder is buying every asset or assuming every liability.
According to the bankruptcy-court report, the process followed an unsuccessful effort to complete an out-of-court transaction for the full company.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did Cummins acquire?
On February 11, 2025, Cummins completed its acquisition of the majority of First Mode’s assets and staff. First Mode’s announcement said the transaction included:
- The First Mode brand.
- Hybrid mining and rail product lines.
- The company’s full intellectual-property portfolio, including hydrogen and battery powertrain solutions.
- Its global commercial portfolio.
- Manufacturing and testing capabilities.
- Mine-haul proving grounds in the United States.
- Engineering, commercial, deployment, operations and manufacturing personnel in Australia, Chile and the United States.
First Mode’s announcement and a Cummins filing describe the acquired hybrid mining and rail technology and the broader powertrain portfolio.
This was an asset acquisition, not necessarily the purchase of every First Mode legal entity, contract, liability, employee relationship or historical obligation. “Cummins bought First Mode” is therefore shorthand, but it is less precise than saying Cummins acquired most of First Mode’s operating assets and staff through the bankruptcy process.
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What happened to the nuGen program?
The First Mode transaction was closely connected to Anglo American’s nuGen zero-emission haulage work. Earlier plans reportedly contemplated approximately 400 nuGen systems over 15 years. That was an earlier strategic plan—not evidence that 400 systems were delivered or that the full commitment remained intact after the funding halt, bankruptcy and acquisition.
The known sequence is clearer than the ultimate status of every planned deployment:
- Anglo American and First Mode developed and demonstrated zero-emission haulage technology.
- First Mode later emphasized hybrid diesel-battery retrofits as a more immediate commercial path.
- Anglo American stopped funding First Mode during its broader portfolio restructuring.
- First Mode filed for Chapter 11 after failing to sell the entire business.
- Cummins acquired most of the technology, product lines, capabilities and selected staff.
The available information does not establish the status of every nuGen customer program, contract or planned deployment after the acquisition, so those commitments should not be presented as fulfilled or automatically transferred.
What this means for industrial decarbonization
First Mode’s collapse as an independent company does not show that heavy-vehicle decarbonization is a failed idea. It does show how difficult the path from demonstration to commercial scale can be.
Industrial customers must weigh infrastructure, uptime, maintenance, payload, financing and total cost of ownership—not just tailpipe emissions. A technology may work in a demonstration but still require years of capital, field support and supply-chain development before it can support a large fleet.
The corporate structure also mattered. First Mode depended heavily on a majority shareholder that was simultaneously an anchor customer and strategic partner. That arrangement can accelerate development, but it can also expose a startup to one company’s capital budget and portfolio decisions. If the investor changes direction before the technology reaches sustainable commercial revenue, a promising business can move rapidly from expansion to workforce reductions and an asset sale.
For customers, employees, suppliers and creditors, the distinction between preserving technology and preserving a company is significant. Cummins’ acquisition may keep products, intellectual property and expertise in the market, while the original First Mode corporate structure, staffing levels, obligations and business plan do not continue unchanged.
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