Posted by Daniel Gleeson on 4th October 2024
It was arduous to maintain up with Fortescue at MINExpo 2024, in Las Vegas, final week – IM did its finest – with the mining firm having on-booth displays all through the three days and 4 press occasions on 4 different stands in the course of the present.
The corporate’s presence was felt far past this, with the headline $2.8 billion settlement to provide 475 new Liebherr machines that includes Fortescue’s progressive inexperienced know-how to Fortescue’s operations in Western Australia being a serious speaking level.
This was swiftly adopted by bulletins that the corporate would work with MacLean on delivering a fleet of 30 GR8 electrical graders to its websites, take supply of Australia’s first Epiroc Pit Viper 271 E (PV271E) electric-driven blasthole drill rig at one in every of its mines, and work with Scania on creating and validating a totally built-in autonomous street prepare answer, leveraging Scania’s know-how in truck automation and Fortescue’s personal fleet administration system (FMS).
The frequent theme amongst all these was the notion that Fortescue needs to be considered as greater than only a mining firm.
“There is a chance right here for Fortescue to be seen as a know-how firm, versus solely an iron ore miner,” Dino Otranto, CEO of Fortescue Metals, informed IM after one other press occasion look.
The know-how the corporate acquired and is now deploying by way of its buy of Williams Superior Engineering in early 2022 is a key a part of this transition. This has led to the event of battery-electric options in addition to charging options – Fortescue Zero now has a 6 MW charging answer to name on.
Otranto obtained into among the specifics behind this providing – together with point out of an in-house DC-DC converter that’s considerably smaller than different ultraclass battery-electric vehicles showcased on the present, in addition to batteries which are each cheaper and provide increased energy densities than others in the marketplace – and mentioned these components would all come into the Liebherr and MacLean machines that seem on web site in Western Australia.
He went additional than this although, outlining how the corporate’s “Fortex” answer – which mixes autonomous haulage, FMS and Stage 9 collision avoidance – would seamlessly combine all the weather to create optimised autonomous and electrical websites of the long run.
“What we’re creating with Fortex is akin to Android,” he mentioned. “The place the normal OEM fashions lock you into Apple and iOS, we need to provide an Android-style open supply platform that lets you share information and interface with different apps inside the ecosystem.
“You’ll quickly see us display that by means of the method of a traction energy system at a mine web site.”
With among the vitality requirement numbers for full battery-electric fleets being mentioned at this time it’s arduous to see any firm with the ability to commercialise zero-emission fleet haulage options with out an overriding vitality administration platform. The operation will inevitably must be optimised (learn: automated) to make sure no kilowatt of vitality is wasted and no machines run out of battery energy. Add in automation, and the security component round car interplay additionally comes into play.
The AHS answer Fortescue and Liebherr have collectively developed as a part of its newest rollout in Western Australia has a fleet administration project engine on the core to observe fleet vitality ranges. This could imply materials motion and vitality replenishment duties may be assigned effectively inside zero emission fleets geared up with the system.
On this regard, Fortescue has its ‘geese in a row’ to compete with the normal mining OEMs within the evolving decarbonisation house.
The corporate should take these OEMs on, with Otranto acknowledging there are a finite variety of Liebherrs and MacLeans keen to offer the machines that the corporate’s batteries will energy, in addition to a fair smaller pool of corporations open to accepting the kind of AHS and FMS integration Fortescue presently envisages.
“We’re conscious that some OEMs will do the whole lot they’ll to guard their provide chain, however what we’re providing – particularly on the software program aspect – represents actual disruption,” Otranto mentioned.
“We want to take an honest market share within the mining sector in the case of decarbonisation, however there are even greater alternatives exterior of mining – in building, in delivery, with locomotives, and many others.”
Such a transfer would bolster the corporate’s backside line, in addition to permit Fortescue to be rated by the funding group as one thing equal to a know-how inventory: a standing that comes with premium buying and selling multiples.
This enterprise mannequin adaptation already seems to be gaining traction.
IM has spoken to mining corporations in contact with Fortescue about doubtlessly deploying a few of its options inside a mine decarbonisation context.
Reuters additionally reported, final week, that Fortescue and Liebherr have secured orders for 100 autonomous battery-powered mining vehicles for different mining and transport corporations, quoting Fortescue Government Chairman, Andrew Forrest.
Fortescue is evidently able to disrupt the decarbonisation established order. The query is: is the broader mining firm group keen to just accept this new market dynamic?
