Fortescue CEO Test Drives Battery-Powered Mining Equipment
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- Dino Otranto test drove Fortescue's newest battery-powered ultra class heavy mining machinery and shared the experience on LinkedIn, ahead of deployment to the company's Pilbara operations in Australia.
- Fortescue is piloting battery-electric prototypes to replace its diesel mining fleet, targeting elimination of Scope 1 and 2 terrestrial emissions by 2030 — a goal that will require swapping out hundreds of diesel machines at end of life with zero-emissions alternatives.
- Fortescue's electrification portfolio already includes an electric retrofit of a Liebherr R 9400 excavator, a 230-ton haul truck capable of 6 MW charging speeds, and an electric locomotive, with the company estimating the transition could displace more than $400 million in annual diesel fuel costs.
- IDTechEx estimates a single 150-ton haul truck burns through more than $850,000 in fuel per year, a figure that underscores the economic case behind the industry's move toward electric heavy equipment.
- Caterpillar's 240-ton electric haul truck can, in use cases with high regenerative braking, operate without significant recharge costs — a data point that makes battery-electric vehicles competitive with diesel on total cost of ownership.
Why it matters: Fortescue must replace hundreds of diesel mining machines by 2030 to hit its zero-emissions target — a procurement program the company says could displace more than $400 million in annual diesel costs and create a large-scale market for electric heavy equipment makers like Liebherr and Caterpillar, where IDTechEx estimates a single 150-ton haul truck burns through more than $850,000 in fuel per year.
![Electric haul trucks could save Fortescue over $400 million in fuel per year [update]](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/liebherr-t264.png?w=1200)
