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    BHP Western Australia orders 2 Battery Locomotives for Iron Ore biz

    Jan. 19, 2022
    The locomotives will have an energy capacity of 7 MWh. The new locomotives are expected to reduce the firm’s fuel costs and emissions in double-digit percentages per train
    Image credit Wabtec
    Flxdrive 61e85f7d3e58b

    BHP Western Australia Iron Ore has placed an order for two FLXdrive battery locomotives from Wabtec Corp.

    The locomotives will have an energy capacity of 7 MWh. The new locomotives are expected to reduce the firm’s fuel costs and emissions in double-digit percentages per train.

    “The FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive represents the future of sustainable rail operations,” said Rogerio Mendonca, President of Freight Equipment for Wabtec. “The rail and mining industries are on the cusp of technological advancements to equip customers with zero-emission locomotive fleets. The FLXdrive is a major step toward eventually achieving that vision. It will provide BHP with the tractive effort, fuel savings, emissions reductions and reliability to cost effectively run their rail operations.”

    The firm will receive the delivery of the newest version of the locomotives in 2023.

    At present, BHP uses four diesel-electric locomotives in a consist to pull trains of 270 cars and carrying 38,000 tons of iron ore. Adding the FLXdrives to the diesel locomotives will form a hybrid consist, which can be recharged during the trip through regenerative braking.

    It will be equipped with Wabtec’s energy-management system. This system will determine the optimal time to discharge and recharge the battery to ensure the most fuel-efficient operation of the locomotive during the trip.

    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.