Following its acquisition by Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. at the start of the year, Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) is developing a range of electrification solutions to support the acceleration of the off-highway sector’s journey to decarbonization.

As part of its corporate parent, WAE is aiming to become a leading supplier to the off-highway sector, using its expertise as a leader in high-performance battery technology for global motorsport and road-car programs to support Fortescue in its transition to a global “green” renewables and resources company through the decarbonization of its worldwide vehicle fleet.

For one project, WAE is working on a “world first,” zero-emission Infinity Train. The regenerating battery electric iron ore train project will use gravitational energy to recharge its battery-electric systems without any additional charging requirements for the return trip to reload.

For another project, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. announced in June a partnership with Liebherr Australia Pty Ltd. for the development and supply of mining haul trucks as the base and integration of zero-emission power system technologies being developed by Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and WAE.

Mining partnership with Liebherr

The partnership between Fortescue and Liebherr tackles the challenge of decarbonizing heavy mobile equipment in the mining industry, enabling both Fortescue and Liebherr’s Mining product segment to achieve their respective commitments to address global emissions.

The phased supply of haul trucks is expected after a two-year joint development period enabling the development and integration of Fortescue’s battery electric and fuel cell electric power system, into Liebherr’s T264 base truck.

Liebherr is implementing its Mining Zero Emission Program, for which the first step is to build the electrified mining product range and the second is to offer complete fossil-fuel-free mining equipment for haulage, digging, and dozing by 2030. The focus is on modularization to allow the integration of energy-type-agnostic powertrains including alternative-fuel combustion engines, batteries, and fuel cells. Liebherr’s partnership with Fortescue is a key component of this program.

“This project provides an excellent opportunity for us to accelerate the integration of clean energy battery and fuel-cell power systems into our mining equipment, which supports our vision and defined strategy to offer future zero-emission equipment with the best suitable powertrain technologies,” said Oliver Weiss, CTO of Liebherr Mining.

The partnership will also assist the future evolution of the Liebherr business.

“It also supports our future investment as we expand Liebherr’s already extensive manufacturing capability including at our truck facility in Newport News Virginia USA, and of course into our service and support network in Australia,” said Dr. Jörg Lukowski, Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing of Liebherr Mining.

The Liebherr partnership will help Fortescue establish an important new business growth opportunity for as it strives to be an integrated green energy and resources company.

“The signing of this contract with Liebherr marks a significant step in the delivery of our industry-leading decarbonization target to achieve net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030,” said Elizabeth Gaines, Fortescue Chief Executive Officer.

The company also hopes to strengthen the economics of its business while making its products acceptable to a zero-pollution future.

“Every day our Fortescue and FFI family take forward the technology, hard work, and willpower of going green, the world mining industry takes one step closer to being the first globally leading industry to go fully green,” said Dr. Andrew Forrest, Fortescue Chairman and Founder.

 

WAE at Bauma

Next week in Munich, the results of WAE’s efforts so far will be on display at Bauma, the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles, and construction equipment. It will be showing its advanced battery and energy storage technology developed specifically for the rugged use cases of mining and other off-highway applications.

Its off-highway battery module features a scalable, modular design delivering sub-30-min pack charge times. The module boasts laser-welded cell-to-busbar technology for in-service reliability. A robust alloy frame is engineered for improved durability, extended life in-service, and optimized cell packaging for maximum energy density.

WAE is looking to unlock battery performance through best-in-class software architecture with a battery management unit designed for pack architectures of less than 800 V. Its advanced-state detection algorithms allow for more efficient energy usage, while the unit also reduces equipment downtime by enabling maximized fast charge rates.

Enabling real-time telematics to maximize cell performance, its cell management unit allows high-precision cell voltage and temperature monitoring. Its innovative “flexi” interconnects enable enhanced durability, while the system’s design allows for reduced manufacturing complexity in high-volume applications.

The company ruggedized its DC/DC converter design for deployment in off-highway vehicle applications with a 600-kW 1.5- to 1.0-kV step-down converter for high power loads. Its silicon-carbide technology delivers exceptional 98.5% efficiency, while full power operation takes place at an ambient temperature of 50oC (122°F).

Its vehicle control module was developed as a powerful processing platform to unlock vehicle performance advantages. Specifically designed for decarbonized powertrains, it has a flexible heterogenous MPSoC (multiprocessor system on a chip) processor.