Mining group Fortescue has signed a US$2.8 billion “green equipment partnership” with Swiss multinational Liebherr as it seeks to eliminate emissions from its Australian iron ore operations by 2030 without relying on carbon credits.
The context: In their “net zero” roadmaps, mining groups and other corporates tend to rely heavily on offsets, whereby they counter their own emissions by funding projects that protect and restore forests, for example. However, studies show that the benefits of these schemes are often vastly exaggerated and they do little to address climate change.
Fortescue bucked the trend when it announced last year that it would reach “real zero” emissions by the end of the decade. It pledged to source all its electricity from renewables, convert its fleet of mining trucks, drill rigs and excavators to run on batteries and green hydrogen, and convert its iron ore trains to run on batteries, gravity and green ammonia.
The decarbonisation programme is expected to cost $6.2 billion, but Fortescue says it’ll pay itself off by 2034 as the group will no longer need to buy diesel, gas, and offset certificates.
The latest: Fortescue will work with Liebherr to build 475 zero-emission vehicles, including 360 autonomous battery-electric trucks, 55 electric excavators, and 60 battery-powered dozers, it said in a statement. This equates to about two-thirds of Fortescue’s current fleet.
The companies will make those technologies available to other miners “in the near future.”
“This is an important next step in our 2030 real zero target,” said the miner’s chairman, Andrew Forrest. “The world needs real zero now – it simply cannot afford to wait.”
“We invite all companies in the mining, heavy industry and haulage sectors to join us,” Forrest added. “The solutions are there, and the missing ingredient is leadership. The time of others persuading you that greenwashing is a better return to shareholders and your community is over.”
In preparation for its shift to electric trucks, Fortescue has developed a stationary fast-charging solution which can provide up to 6 megawatts of power and charge its trucks in 30 minutes.
Tags: Electric vehicles, Fortescue, Real zero
