BYD Delivers 250-MWh Battery System to Power Fortescue's Iron Ore Mining Down Under
Global metals mining firm Fortescue is installing its first-ever large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) to help decarbonize iron ore operations in western Australia.
Fortescue delivered the 250-MWh BYD BESS system into Fortescue’s North Star Junction (NSJ) facility. The company plans to use renewable energy to charge the BESS during daytime and then discharge that capacity into Fortescue’s Pilbara Energy Connect at night.
“This is a big moment for Fortescue – we’re fundamentally changing the way we power our mines,” Fortescue Metals and Operations CEO Dino Otranto said in a statement. “These systems let us store solar power and use it when we need it most, helping us cut diesel and gas and run our sites on renewable energy.”
The Chinese-made BYD Blade Battery technology is capable of 50 MW of discharge per hour for up to five hours. Fortescue eventually hopes to install up to 5 GW of battery storage into decarbonizing its energy supply over coming years.
“Fortescue is leading one of the most ambitious mining decarbonization programs in the world, and BYD is proud to support this transformation,” Yin Xueqin, general manager of BYD’s Energy Storage and New Battery Application unit, said. “The NSJ BESS is an important milestone for our partnership, and we will continue working closely with Fortescue to deliver the large-scale storage needed to power a green Pilbara.”
BYD’s Blade battery is composed of lithium iron phosphate chemistry originally designed for electric vehicles. The BESS includes a liquid cooling system and was designed to operate within Pilbara’s hot and dry weather conditions.
Fortescue is considered among the top five iron ore producers in the world. The miner’s Pilbara hubs produce more than 100 million metric tons of iron ore per year.
Other mining giants which are working in the Pilbara region include BHP, Nippon Steel and Rio Tinto.
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Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.
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