Fortescue takes delivery of second 14.5 MWh battery electric locomotive

Fortescue has received its second 14.5 MWh battery electric locomotive from Progress Rail. The eight-axle units are described as among the world’s largest land-mobile batteries and are set to cut diesel use by around one million litres per year.

Fortesque electric locomotive trains australia — Image: Fortesque

The battery electric locomotives are eight-axle units with an onboard energy capacity of 14.5 MWh and have been manufactured at Progress Rail’s facility in Sete Lagoas, Brazil. They are intended for heavy-haul iron ore transport between mine sites and port infrastructure in Western Australia. The first unit was delivered in June, with the second arriving in Port Hedland late last week before transfer to the Pilbara.

Fortescue announced that the two units are powered by ‘two of the world’s largest land-mobile batteries.’ In a separate statement on LinkedIn, Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer Dino Otranto described them as ‘two of the world’s largest battery electric locomotives.’

When in service, the vehicles are expected to eliminate approximately one million litres of diesel consumption annually. Fortescue states that the locomotives can recover between 40 and 60 per cent of energy through regenerative braking and support high-power charging at up to 2.8 MW to reduce turnaround times. Charging will be supplied using renewable electricity from Fortescue’s Pilbara Energy Connect transmission and generation project.

The delivery is part of the company’s strategy to achieve “real zero” emissions across its Pilbara iron ore operations by 2030. The locomotives were supplied by Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, following an order placed in early 2022.

Just three weeks ago, Australia got its first purpose-built battery-powered heavy haulage locomotives. These were purpose-built for the mining company BHP, for use by its mines in Western Australia.

linkedin.com (Otranto), linkedin.com, thedriven.io