In a strategic pivot, Fortescue Zero is shifting its focus from manufacturing battery packs for Fortescue’s electric vehicle fleet in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Instead, the subsidiary will concentrate on power systems architecture for these vehicles, according to Fortescue Metals and Operations CEO, Dino Otranto, during an interview at Resourcing Tomorrow in London.
“Our intention when we brought Williams Advanced Engineering (now called Fortescue Zero) back in 2022 was to rapidly scale up and get into manufacturing of battery packs and supporting systems in the UK and Australia,” Otranto stated. “The reality is that we just can’t compete with the supply chain out of China when it comes to price and speed.
Fortescue Zero will now leverage its technical expertise in electrification across mining and other sectors, while continuing to develop its electric motorsport business. This shift may see Fortescue Zero receiving battery packs from suppliers like CATL or BYD and integrating them into customized power systems for electric machinery. The company’s intellectual property will primarily lie in the customization of these off-the-shelf battery packs for various manufacturers and mining companies seeking alternatives to traditional OEM models.
Despite the change in manufacturing strategy, Fortescue Zero will continue to supply its battery designs to Liebherr for integration into trucks, although manufacturing will be outsourced.
“The new setup will allow us access to the latest and broadest battery technology at the lowest possible cost, which makes strategic sense for both Fortescue as a user and Fortescue as a technology provider,” Otranto noted.
On the ground in Pilbara, Fortescue is advancing its renewable energy infrastructure and has introduced an electric-tethered Epiroc Pit Viper 271E and several small electric ancillary vehicles from XCMG.
“We also have several diesel-electric Liebherr T264 trucks now at our operations, which will be converted to battery-electric drive in the future,” he added. Fortescue plans to receive phased deliveries of battery-electric trucks from Liebherr and XCMG between 2028 and 2030.
The company’s ambitions for achieving “Real Zero” emissions are rapidly progressing. Fortescue aims to cut its terrestrial emissions (Scope 1 and 2) to zero by 2030.
In the realm of light electric vehicles, Fortescue’s Pilbara operations have tested the Ford F150 Lightning electric truck, the Rivian R1T eLV, and a prototype of the BYD Shark.
Fortescue’s Haulex platform is likely to coordinate the use of all electric vehicles, integrating autonomous haulage, fleet management, and Level 9 collision avoidance for optimized operations.
Otranto mentioned that both the Iron Bridge and Eliwana iron ore mines, which are under Fortescue’s majority and full ownership respectively, are employing the Haulex fleet management solution. Iron Bridge, run by contract miner Thiess, uses a mixed equipment fleet.
“What we are developing with Haulex is akin to Android,” he explained. “Where the traditional OEM models lock you into Apple and iOS, we want to offer an Android-style open source platform that allows you to share data and interface with other apps in an optimal way within the ecosystem.”
Original Story at im-mining.com