Giant leap of Liebherr and Fortescue toward zero-emission mining

Historic moment

Liebherr Group and Fortescue have made a press release informing us that they have taken a giant leap forward in sustainable mining, unveiling a historic deal to develop and deploy 475 zero-emission machines. The announcement was made by Dr. Andrew Forrest and Dr. Willi Liebherr, at this year’s MINExpo INTERNATIONAL in Las Vegas, marking a historic moment in the journey towards zero-emission mining. As part of this collaboration, Liebherr will supply 475 state-of-the-art machines, equipped with Fortescue’s groundbreaking green technology, to their operations in Western Australia. This $ 2.8 billion agreement marks the largest equipment deal (concerning machines – Liebherr and the battery power system – Fortescue) in Liebherr’s 75-year history and Fortescue’s biggest contract.

Biggest contract

Jörg Lukowski from Liebherr Mining Equipment SAS has stated: “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”.

Key highlights

–         360 Autonomous Battery-Electric Trucks (T 264 trucks)

–         60 Battery-Powered Dozers (PR 776)

–         55 Electric Excavators (R 9400 E)

Zero-emission pathway

The first of these trucks began arriving at Fortescue’s Western Australian operations in October 2023, with all trucks autonomy-ready and prepared for progressive deployment. The journey to a fully autonomous, battery-electric solution is on track, with validation set for completion by early 2026. Excitingly, the first operational autonomous trucks will be deployed in Q1 2025, and the conversion of the initial 240-tonne trucks to zero-emission powertrains will be completed before 2030.

Powered by Fortescue Zero’s innovative battery technology, this partnership introduces a carbon-free mining ecosystem that will replace heavy diesel machinery and push toward a fossil-fuel-free mining industry by 2030. The equipment will support Fortescue’s operations in Western Australia and soon be available for mining companies globally.

Increasing capacity

Michael Arndt has added: ‘We are on track with our investment plans to develop our global infrastructure to ensure that we can accommodate the expansion of our business and provide our customers with larger quantities and a wider range of zero emission technology”.

Major step

This collaboration is a major step toward decarbonizing mining and a bold move to eliminate emissions from heavy industry.

Dr. Forrest stated: “This is an important next step in our 2030 Real Zero target – to eliminate emissions from our Australian iron ore operations by the end of the decade. The world needs Real Zero now – it simply cannot afford to wait.”

Source of image: Fortescue official webpage