Australian mining company Fortescue announced that it has entered into a $2.8 billion partnership with German-Swiss equipment manufacturer Liebherr to develop one of the largest zero-emission mining fleets in the world.
The collaboration, which began in 2022 with an agreement to create green technology-based trucks for hauling iron ore from Fortescue’s mines, has now been expanded. The mining fleet supplied by Liebherr will increase from 120 to 475 trucks.
As the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer, Fortescue plans to acquire 360 autonomous battery-electric trucks, 55 electric excavators, and 60 battery-powered dozers, aiming to replace approximately two-thirds of its current fleet.
In the fiscal year 2024, the company’s mining operations consumed around 450 million liters of diesel, contributing to 51% of its scope 1 carbon emissions.
Fortescue is also investigating various methods to produce green iron—iron manufactured with a lower carbon footprint—while expanding its efforts to generate hydrogen from renewable sources.
“This is an important next step in our 2030 Real Zero target – to eliminate emissions from our Australian terrestrial iron ore operations by the end of the decade. The world needs Real Zero now – it simply cannot afford to wait,” Fortescue Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest said in a statement.
Dr Jörg Lukowski, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Liebherr-Mining Equipment SAS said, “We are proud to have facilitated the single largest equipment deal in the entire 75-year history of the Liebherr Group. Especially as the expansion of our collaboration with Fortescue is an important step forward in our shared goal to decarbonise mining activities worldwide. The technology developed as part of this record-breaking deal will not only support our customers along their decarbonisation journeys but also help us honour our commitment to offering completely fossil fuel free hauling, loading and dozing solutions by the end of the decade.”