Liebherr and Fortescue are teaming up to make mining greener. The two companies announced their expanded partnership at MINExpo 2024 in Las Vegas, aiming to develop and test zero emission mining solutions.

The deal includes 475 new Liebherr machines that will use Fortescue's green technology. These machines will work in Fortescue's operations in Western Australia. It's a big deal for Liebherr - the largest in the company's 75-year history.

Fortescue's current fleet uses a lot of diesel - about 400 million litres in the 2024 financial year. This accounts for 51% of the company's direct emissions. The partnership will help change that.

The companies want to create a complete zero emission mining system by 2030. They plan to make this system available to other mining companies in the coming years.

Most of the new machines - about 360 - will be autonomous battery-electric trucks. These T 264 models will use power systems developed by Fortescue Zero. The trucks will also have a joint-developed autonomous driving system. This system can be added to existing Liebherr trucks too.

Fortescue's also working on a fast charging solution. It will have robotic connection options and can deliver up to 6 MW of power. That's enough to charge the current T 264 truck in just 30 minutes.

Right now, four autonomous trucks are being tested at Fortescue's site. Validation of the full autonomous battery-electric solution is expected to be complete in early 2026.

Sources: Liebherr, Fortescue