Australian iron ore firm Fortescue Metals has collaborated with equipment manufacturer Liebherr for the development of green technology-based mining haul trucks.
Intended to decarbonise heavy mobile equipment in the mining industry, the partnership is expected to contribute to Fortescue’s transition of its diesel fleet to a green mining fleet by 2030.
According to the agreement, Fortescue will purchase 120 haul trucks from Liebherr based on its fleet replacement and sustaining capital expenditure estimate.
The purchase volume is said to account for 45% of the miner’s existing fleet of haul truck.
These trucks are planned to be integrated with the zero-emission power system technologies, which are being developed by Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) and Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).
Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines said: “The signing of this contract with Liebherr marks a significant step in the delivery of our industry-leading decarbonisation target to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.
“We strongly believe that enhancing technology is key to addressing climate change and we are investing in renewables and new decarbonisation technologies to transform our mining fleet to run on green renewable energy.”
Following a two-year joint development period, Liebherr is expected to begin a phased supply of haul trucks and integrate its base truck with Fortescue’s power system.
Based on Fortescue’s requirements, Liebherr is expected to supply mining haul trucks in both battery electric truck and fuel cell electric truck configurations.
Fortescue expects the initial zero-emission haul units to be fully operational within its mine sites by 2025.
Gaines added: “This agreement builds on the considerable value already created through Fortescue’s acquisition of WAE and demonstrates the significant long-term opportunity for Fortescue to commercialise green power system technologies to the broader heavy-duty mobility market.”
Liebherr Mining chief technology officer Oliver Weiss said: “This project provides an excellent opportunity for us to accelerate the integration of clean energy battery and fuel cell power systems into our mining equipment, which supports our vision and defined strategy to offer future zero-emission equipment with the best suitable power train technologies.”
