Fortescue has commissioned two new battery electric locomotives on its rail network, marking a major milestone in the company’s plans to decarbonise its iron ore operations in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
The battery electric locomotives will house the world’s largest land-mobile batteries capable of recovering 40 to 60 per cent of energy through regenerative battery. They will operate on renewable power delivered via Fortescue’s Pilbara Energy Connect program.
The two electric locomotives will together eliminate around one million litres of diesel each year.
Fortescue Metals and Operations CEO, Dino Otranto, said: “Real Zero is about transforming the way we power our assets, move our materials and run our operations, not offsetting emissions but eliminating them.
“Decarbonising our rail network is a critical part of that task and the commissioning of these battery electric locomotives demonstrates that heavy-haul rail can operate reliably without fossil fuels.
Fortescue is working towards its Real Zero Target, eliminating Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its Australian terrestrial iron ore operations by the end of 2030.
To reach its Real Zero target, Fortescue is constructing the 190-megawatt (MW) Cloudbreak solar farm, which is around two thirds complete. Fortescue has also received all primary approvals for the up to 644 MW Turner River solar farm, with construction anticipated to commence later this year, while a 440 MW solar farm at Solomon remains in the near-term pipeline.
At North Star Junction, Fortescue already operates a 100 MW solar farm, which will be supported by a recently installed 250 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) capable of delivering up to 50MW of power for five hours.
“For a mining operation of this scale, decarbonisation only works if renewable energy is firm, reliable and available 24/7. That’s why we’re building an integrated system combining large-scale solar and wind generation, battery storage and transmission infrastructure,” Otranto said.
“Through Pilbara Energy Connect, we’ve already constructed more than 480 kilometres of high-voltage transmission lines, physically linking our energy assets to our operations and rail network.
“This infrastructure enables renewable power to replace diesel and gas, in real time, across the Pilbara.”