Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares are on the move on Wednesday.
In morning trade, the mining giant's shares are up 3% to $18.57
Why are Fortescue shares rising?
Investors have been buying the iron ore miner's shares this morning after it announced a major green partnership.
According to the release, the company has signed a significant expansion of its partnership with global equipment manufacturer Liebherr. This will see the two parties develop and validate a range of zero emission mining solutions.
This new agreement builds on the partnership established in June 2022 and increases the total number of machines to be supplied by Liebherr to approximately 475 from 120 previously.
The release notes that the equipment will be powered by the battery power system developed by Fortescue Zero. Liebherr and Fortescue will also deploy an autonomous battery electric haulage solution for large scale mining operations.
Management expects the partnership to create one of the world's largest zero emission mining fleets. It believes this represents a major breakthrough in the pursuit of a mining industry no longer reliant on fossil fuels. It also feels that it demonstrates tangible progress towards transitioning Fortescue's diesel mining fleet to a zero emission fleet, which is aligned with the company's target to achieve Real Zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions across its Australian terrestrial iron ore operations by 2030.
Fortescue plans to purchase approximately 360 autonomous battery electric trucks, 55 electric excavators, and 60 battery powered dozers. This represents approximately two-thirds of the current mining fleet at Fortescue's operations. Fortescue's mining fleet consumed approximately 450 million litres of diesel in FY 2024 and accounted for 51% of its Scope 1 emissions.
The total value of the partnership, comprising the supply of machines by Liebherr and the battery power system from Fortescue Zero, is up to US$2.8 billion (A$4 billion).
Important next step
Fortescue's executive chairman, Dr Andrew Forrest AO, was pleased with the partnership. He said:
Partnerships with companies and people like Liebherr and Willi Liebherr – where ambition is backed by action – are critical. This is an important next step in our 2030 Real Zero target – to eliminate emissions from our Australian terrestrial iron ore operations by the end of the decade.
The world needs Real Zero now – it simply cannot afford to wait. The green solutions we need are here today, and Fortescue Zero is supplying them and rolling them out across our massive mining operations. Fortescue Zero developed this battery technology and jointly developed the Automated Haulage Solution, leading the way to provide green innovative solutions to eliminate emissions from heavy industry.
