Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals grabbed some headlines this week with information that it might make investments $4 billion for tons of of big electrical haul vehicles, electrical dozers and electrical excavators. However what actually caught many individuals’s consideration was its revelation that it has developed an EV quick charger with a rated capability of 6 megawatts (MW).
The 6 MW charger is twice as massive as the three MW prototype that was constructed to cost the Roadrunner, the primary iteration of its battery electrical haul vehicles at its big iron ore mines, and considerably larger than another truck charger so far.
The 6 MW chargers shall be used to cost the large 1.9 megawatt hour batteries that drive the ability programs for the large 240 tonne battery electrical haul vehicles. It says will probably be in a position to do this in simply half an hour.
“Fortescue has developed the stationary quick charging answer to help the autonomous battery-electric truck,” the corporate stated this week. “Geared up with robotic connection choices, the charger can present as much as 6 MW of energy and cost the present battery-electric T 264 in half-hour.”
And there weren’t many extra particulars than that, and Fortescue declined to remark additional. The corporate’s newly launched Local weather Transition Report reveals solely that it expects the brand new 6 MW chargers to be rolled out in 2026.
For comparability, the largest chargers rolled out so far have been ABB’s megawatt charger, which it says has the potential to ramp as much as charging capacities of as much as 3.75 megawatts at 3,000 amps.
And if Fortescue is correct in regards to the scale and velocity of its haul truck charging, it begs the query of what potential position hydrogen vehicles may have in such environment. It continues to check them, however BHP has already written off the thought.
Fortescue will usher in 360 of the T 264 battery electrical haul vehicles as a part of that $4 billion take care of Leibherr, which is the largest single contract that both firm has signed.
It should additionally usher in 60 electrical bulldozers that it’s presently creating with Liebherr, once more with propulsion and battery programs designed by Fortescue, in addition to including one other 52 electrical excavators to the three which can be already reaching success on the firm’s mines.
The package deal is a part of Fortescue’s bold aim of reaching “actual zero” in its terrestrial operations at its enormous iron ore mines within the Pilbara. It presently burns greater than a billion litres of diesel a yr for its transport wants, and also will exchange its fuel and diesel mills with wind, photo voltaic and battery storage.
Fortescue’s management can be dragging the opposite massive miners into the battery electrical age. BHP and Rio Tinto are working collectively on their very own electrification plans and have began trials of each battery electrical and hydrogen vehicles, in addition to planning photo voltaic, wind and battery tasks at these mines.
“The T 264 battery-electric truck, powered by a Fortescue Zero battery energy system, shall be one of many first zero emission options for mine haulage in operation globally,” Fortescue CEO Dino Otranto stated in a press release.
“It combines Fortescue Zero’s heritage of innovation, delivering a battery energy system designed for best-in-class vary and sturdiness in all mining environments, with Liebherr’s confirmed haul truck excellence.
“The zero emission battery energy system developed by Fortescue Zero additionally displays Fortescue’s continued evolution into a number one know-how firm that’s promoting its modern options to the world.”