Fortescue, Liebherr Partner for Zero-Emission Mining
Highlights
- Fortescue and Liebherr team up for zero-emission autonomous mining trucks.
- Fortescue aims to operate the world's first AHS operating zero emissions vehicles.
- Innovative fleet management system to reduce carbon footprint in mining operations.
Fortescue, a company focused on green technology, energy, and metals, is committed to fully transitioning its operations to sustainable practices.
The company has partnered with Liebherr Mining to develop an Autonomous Haulage Solution (AHS) that will run on zero-emission vehicles. This technology will be tested and refined at Fortescue's Pilbara mines in Western Australia.
Fortescue introduced driverless trucks to its fleet in 2020. Leveraging this success, the company is now developing a fully autonomous system that will include trucks, drills, and water carts.
The core of the new Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) is a smart Fleet Management System (FMS). This system is designed to enhance productivity, cut fuel use, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Dino Otranto, Fortescue’s CEO, said: "Our deep expertise in autonomous haulage, that has come from operating over 200 diesel autonomous haul trucks across our mine sites, has enabled Fortescue and Liebherr to develop a Fleet Management System that uniquely targets efficiency and unlocks untapped capacity in our fleet.
“The partnership with Liebherr has enabled us to jointly develop the Fleet Management Systems, which provide us with an OEM agnostic solution that can be integrated with any autonomous platform including trucks, drills, watercarts or any other heavy mining equipment. This critical technology puts our business in full control of our development priorities and roadmap.”
Oliver Weiss, EVP R&D, Engineering, and Production, Liebherr Mining said: “Liebherr has always prioritised market-led product development and we are privileged to be partnering with Fortescue to collectively develop and deploy this Autonomous Haulage Solution. Our collaborative efforts will be beneficial, not only for Fortescue, but for the entire mining industry.”
This partnership will support their previous work in zero-emission haulage using fuel cell and battery technology. With the implementation of AHS, Fortescue aims to become the world’s first mining company to run a fully autonomous, zero-emission fleet.
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Source: Fortescue
