Komatsu to develop zero-emission vehicles for mining

Komatsu has announced it will collaborate with its customers — most notably Rio Tinto — to develop zero-emission equipment solutions for the mining industry. The company, which is a leading supplier of mining vehicles including an autonomous dump truck, says it plans to utilise electrification for the next generation of its offerings.

Working together to rapidly innovate in support of carbon reduction targets, Komatsu and several of its customers have formed the Komatsu Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Alliance. The founding members of the alliance are Rio Tinto, BHP, Codelco and Boliden.

Through the alliance framework, Komatsu’s GHG partners will work directly with Komatsu to actively collaborate on product planning, development, testing and deployment of the next generation of zero-emission mining equipment and infrastructure.

Rio Tinto has also announced it 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,” said Alf Barrios, Rio Tinto’s Chief Commercial Officer. “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 decarbonise our business.”

The alliance’s initial target is advancing Komatsu’s power-agnostic truck concept for a haulage vehicle that can run on a variety of power sources including diesel electric, electric, trolley (wired), battery power and even hydrogen fuel cells.

Masayuki Moriyama, President of Komatsu’s mining business division, said: “We are honoured that our customers, several of the largest mining companies in the world, have agreed to participate in the Komatsu GHG Alliance and work in partnership with us to develop sustainable solutions for mining.

“We look forward to close collaboration with these industry leaders to accelerate development and deployment of the next level of equipment designed to reduce greenhouse gases from mining operations and ultimately achieve the goal of zero-emission mining.”

The formation of the alliance brings together mining leaders willing to share time, resources and information to deliver zero-emission equipment solutions. Komatsu intends to expand the alliance to additional mining companies to enhance industry-wide collaboration on solutions to decarbonisation.

As a company, Komatsu says it is committed to minimising environmental impact through its business, targeting a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions from the use of its products and production of its equipment by 2030 (compared to 2010 levels) and a challenge target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Komatsu has worked to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for customers through product development in many areas including electric diesel dump trucks, electric power shovels, regenerative energy storage capabilities and fuel saver programs.

The company’s initial concept for a haulage vehicle that can run on a variety of power sources, part of the power-agnostic development, is set to make its official debut at MINExpo 2021 on 13 September in Las Vegas.