Australian mining company Fortescue has made a big stride in changing the face of mining transport for good with the arrival of its prototype Liebherr hydrogen-powered haul truck.
Dubbed ‘Europa’, the Liebherr T 264 haul truck has made an 1100-kilometre journey from Perth to the Pilbara where it will now undertake site-based testing at a real-life mining environment at Christmas Creek.
Once commissioned on site, Europa will be refuelled with liquid hydrogen from Fortescue’s Green Energy Hub, also located at Christmas Creek.
Fortescue Metals CEO Dino Otranto has labelled the pairing of the hydrogen powered Europa with its battery electric equivalent, Roadrunner, as a “game-changer” for the company.
“This builds on our wider collaboration with Liebherr, where we are working together to develop and validate a fully integrated Autonomous Haulage Solution, which we’re aiming to be the first to operate in zero emission vehicles globally,” Otranto says.
“To decarbonise mining you need a system solution, so this new operating system which integrates a Fleet Management System and energy management will be a game changer for us in reducing our carbon emissions.
“Europa integrates for the first time a Fortescue Zero battery into a Liebherr haul truck, marking a huge milestone in our partnership with Liebherr.
“Over the next five years we’ll be working with Liebherr to develop a fleet of zero emission haul trucks, which will be progressively deployed across our sites from 2026.
“It’s fantastic to have our hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype now joining its battery electric equivalent, Roadrunner, up at site.”
Executive Vice President of R&D, Engineering and Production, Liebherr-Mining Equipment SAS Oliver Weiss added the testing of Europa in Australian conditions will dramatically influence how Liebherr continues to approach its construction of zero-emission mining vehicles.
“What we learn from this hybrid truck will significantly shape and enhance our future development strategies for zero-emission haulage,” Weiss says.
“It is fascinating to see how this cooperation helps to fast track our planned developments of new technology from ideas to demonstration and operation in the field.”
Roadrunner became active in August, 2023 and, as of March this year, had completed its first phase of testing.
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