Mining company unveils battery charger capable of mind-blowing feat with heavy equipment: 'An important step forward'

Nov 02, 2024

The charger was part of a $4 billion electric equipment deal between Fortescue and equipment company Liebherr.

Photo Credit: Liebherr

A huge new battery charger promises to power massive vehicles in a mind-bogglingly short amount of time.

According to Electrek, mining company Fortescue unveiled a new six-megawatt charger designed to power the massive 1,900-kilowatt battery on its giant hauler truck in just 30 minutes.

The charger was part of a $4 billion electric equipment deal between Fortescue and equipment company Liebherr, which will eventually see 475 of Liebherr's fully electric vehicles delivered to the mining company.

"We are proud to have facilitated the single largest equipment deal in the entire 75-year history of the Liebherr Group. Especially as the expansion of our collaboration with Fortescue is an important step forward in our shared goal to decarbonize mining activities worldwide," said Liebherr's executive vice president of sales and marketing Dr. Jörg Lukowski.

The deal is a massive step in Fortescue's plan to go fully carbon neutral in its iron ore mining operations in Australia.

These two companies have been in the news for their commitment to green energy a lot lately; recently, they also unveiled a driverless electric haul truck that has started to be deployed at Fortescue's Australian dig sites. Meanwhile, deployment of Caterpillar's fully electric haulers has begun in Brazil at nickel, copper, and manganese mines. And Komatsu has also debuted its own fully electric line of heavy mining and construction equipment.

"The technology developed as part of this record-breaking deal will not only support our customers along their decarbonization journeys but also help us honor our commitment to offer completely fossil fuel-free hauling, loading and dozing solutions by the end of the decade," Lukowski said. "In fact, in the coming years, [we] will be able to offer more customers within the industry a proven, large-scale zero-emission mining ecosystem."

According to GlobalData, the metals and mining industry accounts for 4-7% of the world's planet-warming gas pollution. Those emissions lead to extreme weather, food shortages, and more catastrophic effects. However, the recent technological developments show it's clear the industry is committed to reducing its carbon footprint sooner than later.

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