Iron ore giant Fortescue has taken delivery of its first battery electric locomotive prototype as it continues its race to its “real zero” target that aims to eliminate all fossil fuels from the mining and terrestrial transport operations of its giant Pilbara mines.
The battery electric locomotive, developed by Fortescue Zero, the company’s green technology arm, and is part of the company’s plans to develop what it has dubbed ” infinity” trains.
This concept involves sending fully laden trains downhill from the mines to the port, charging the batteries with regenerative power along the way, and then sending the empty trains back up hill with battery power.
The Driven understands that this locomotive, being a prototype, is not the “infinity train” per se, as it is still in tests, but can recover energy (recharge) when travelling down hill. Fortescue has not released details of the size of the battery powering the locomotive.
The focus on trains in part of a multi-billion plan that will see Fortescue deploy hundreds of giant electric haul trucks, along with other fully electric mining equipment such as diggers and bulldozers, and power these by an array of large scale wind and solar farms, and a fleet of big batteries.
Fortescue says the first battery electric locomotive prototype that has arrived in the Pilbara will initially go through testing within a rail yard.
“Over the coming months, it will undergo rigorous trials to assess its performance prior to entering into Pilbara mainline conditions later this year,” a company spokesperson said.
“These trials are critical for understanding how battery electric technology can be scaled to meet the unique demands of this region.”
Fortescue Zero is developing many of the in-house green technology solutions to decarbonise Fortescue, including electric drive trains for the giant haul trucks, fast charging systems, and huge batteries.
“Our team continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in heavy industry decarbonisation,” the company said.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.