Progress Rail launches battery locomotives for Australia’s mining giant Fortescue

Progress Rail delivered two BE14.5BB battery-electric locomotives to Australia for Fortescue, marking an improvement in zero-emission mining railway transport solutions for the Pilbara region.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Progress Rail expands supply of sustainable locomotives

Two battery-electric mainline BE14.5BB locomotives with a capacity of 14.5 MWh have been delivered by Progress Rail, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Caterpillar, to Fortescue, one of the world’s largest mining companies, who aim to test them on iron ore haulage routes over long distances on delivery in Western Australia, having been assembled at its Brazilian factory, aimed at testing them on routes spanning Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

Fortescue has a consumption of more than 80 million liters of diesel fuel each year, and thus, it is pushing towards clean fuel sources. Fortescue has set a target of reducing its net greenhouse gas emission to zero by 2030, and Progress Rail is aiding them in achieving this target as they have equipment that can substitute conventional diesel-fueled trains and can help reduce carbon emission significantly.

Progress Rail strengthens its position in the clean traction market

Simultaneously, Fortescue is working alongside Deutsche Bahn on modifying diesel engines to run on ammonia and hydrogen, thus improving efficiency and flexibility of fleets.

Earlier, Fortescue and Downer Group had designed a prototype battery-fueled locomotive for their “gravity train” project. Although this initiative was shelved due to trial results that indicated a lack of economic viability, alternative technological research is currently underway that seeks to integrate electricity and fuel innovation into train technology.

Other large mining companies operating within the Pilbara region are treading this same route as well. Orders for an FLXdrive battery-powered locomotive have been placed by Roy Hill Holdings, while Rio Tinto has purchased four of these, and orders have been placed by BHP Group with both Wabtec and Progress Rail as well. Such demand for sustainable technology is based on an effort to reduce costs and adhere to ESG standards worldwide.

Consequently, the future of carbon neutral transportation technology is being experimented on and tested through projects undertaken by Pilbara, and through projects undertaken by Progress Rail, heavy rail transport can be successfully and profitably decarbonized through battery electric locomotives and other innovations of this kind.

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