A hydrogen-powered T 264 haul truck prototype developed in partnership by Fortescue and Liebherr has fired up its engines for the first time in Perth.
The successful operation of the truck, dubbed ‘Europa’, with hydrogen marks the next step in Liebherr and Fortescue’s journey to develop and supply zero-emission haul trucks for the mining industry.
“With Europa soon moving to site, Liebherr and Fortescue have taken an important step closer to their common target of developing and building zero-emission solutions for the mining industry that are both field proven and energy agnostic,” Liebherr Mining vice president of sales and marketing Joerg Lukowski said.
“This success demonstrates the incredible capabilities of two Tier 1 companies working together to develop viable technologies today that can help the mining industry move towards a decarbonised future.”
Europa contains a 1.6-megawatt battery developed in-house by Fortescue WAE, and 500 kilowatts of fuel cells. The prototype can store over 380kg of liquid hydrogen.
“Following the success of our battery electric haul truck prototype at site, we’re thrilled to now have Europa up and running on hydrogen,” Fortescue Metals chief executive officer Dino Otranto said.
“This is a huge achievement for the team and brings Fortescue another step closer to having a fleet of zero emission trucks at our sites by the end of this decade.”
Fortescue and Liebherr established a partnership for the development and supply of zero-emissions mining haul trucks in June 2022.
Liebherr began delivering the first of Fortescue’s T 264 diesel electric trucks in 2023, which will be converted to zero emission technology before the end of the decade.
“We’re aiming to transport Europa to our mining operations within the coming weeks where it will then undergo further site-based testing and commissioning,” Otranto said.
“The subsequent test results will inform our future fleet of zero emissions trucks that we’re delivering with Liebherr.”