Fortescue and Liebherr to develop first zero emissions autonomous haul trucks for mines

Australian mining giant Fortescue is teaming up again with German-Swiss equipment manufacturer Liebherr to develop and validate what they say will be the first zero emissions autonomous haul trucks for mines in the world.

Fortescue and Liebherr are already working on trials for full battery electric and hydrogen versions of the giant 264 tonne haul trucks that are used at the iron ore mines in the Pilbara.

Fortescue has vowed to eliminate diesel use at its mines by 2030 as part of its pledge a fully to reach “real zero” emissions, and expected to save nearly 90 million litres of diesel each year from electric excavators that is has successfully introduced into its mines.

Other miners are also going electric, although at slower speeds than Fortescue, with BHP announcing last week that it is now clear that battery electric haulage trucks will be better than hydrogen or hybrid versions.

The new Autonomous Haulage Solution (AHS) is being developed, tested, and validated at Fortescue’s iron ore operations in the Pilbara and integrates a Fleet Management System (FMS), onboard autonomy kit for the T 264 truck, and a high precision machine guidance system for loading equipment.

The FMS has been designed so as to optimise fleet utilisation and maximise productivity, and will enable control and coordination of mixed fleets of autonomous vehicles including selected autonomous ultra-class mining trucks, autonomous road trains and autonomous light vehicles.

“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,” said Dino Otranto, Fortescue metals chief executive officer.

“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.”