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    Fortescue purchases two Battery-Electric Locomotives from Caterpillar subsidiary

    Jan. 18, 2022
    The new 8-axle BE14.5BB locomotives will be manufactured at Progress Rail’s Sete Lagoas, Brazil-based facility, and will have an energy capacity of 14.5 MWh
    Fortesque Port 61e7245f021fd

    Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has purchased two new battery-electric locomotives from Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, to continue its decarbonization efforts.

    Fortescue will deploy the locomotives to transport its iron ore to port in Western Australia.

    The new 8-axle BE14.5BB locomotives will be manufactured at Progress Rail’s Sete Lagoas, Brazil-based facility, and will have an energy capacity of 14.5 MWh.

    Fortescue’s Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Gaines said, “The purchase of these new battery powered locomotives marks an important milestone in the decarbonisation of Fortescue’s locomotive fleet and demonstrates our commitment to achieving carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, as we diversify from a pure play iron ore producer to a green renewables and resources company.

    “The new locomotives will cut our emissions while also reducing our fuel costs and our overall operational expense through lower maintenance spend.”

    These new Progress Rail locomotives will complement the locos that are manufactured at Fortescue Future Industries’ Hazelmere facility in Australia and are powered by green ammonia and other green renewable fuels and technologies.

    Progress Rail is expected to deliver the first battery-powered locomotive to Fortescue in 2023.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.