Rio Tinto and Komatsu to partner for zero-emission mining

August 13, 2021

Rio Tinto and Komatsu have announced a parternship to fast-track the development and implementation of zero-emission mining haulage solutions, including haul trucks.

Rio Tinto will conduct a pre-production trial of the new equipment at a Rio Tinto site and has the option to purchase some of the first trucks from Komatsu once they are commercially viable.

“Rio Tinto and Komatsu have a shared history of partnership on innovation going back to when we built the world’s largest Komatsu autonomous haulage fleet in 2008,” Alf Barrios, Rio Tinto’s chief commercial officer said in a statement. “Our support of a trial, and the option to buy some of the first trucks from Komatsu, underscores our shared commitment to actively collaborate on product planning, development, testing and deployment of the next generation of zero-emission mining equipment and infrastructure as we look to decarbonize our business.”

Rio Tinto is also one of the first companies to join Komatsu’s newly launched Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Alliance which has an initial target of advancing Komatsu’s power agnostic truck concept for a haulage vehicle that can run on a variety of power sources including battery and hydrogen.

Max Moriyama, president, mining business division of Komatsu Ltd said Komatsu was honored to continue to partner with Rio Tinto.

“Rio Tinto and Komatsu both recognize the critical role zero-emission haul trucks play in meeting the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction goals for the mining industry and the need to focus on developing practical haulage solutions.

“We are looking forward to advanced collaboration with them,” said Moriyama.

Rio Tinto is also a founding patron of the Charge On Innovation Challenge, which is focused on solving the power distribution infrastructure needed to support zero-emission haul trucks.

“We know that addressing climate change effectively requires businesses, governments and society to work together. Our collaboration with Komatsu recognizes the role zero-emission haul trucks will play in meeting the emission reduction goals of not only Rio Tinto, but the entire mining industry,” said Alf.

 

 

Related article search: