Financial Services Association, May 27 (Editor Zhou Ziyi) -- Rio Tinto (Rio Tinto), a major Australian mining company, announced on Monday (May 27) that it will cooperate with BHP Group (BHP Group) to test large-scale electric transport truck technology in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Rio Tinto said in a statement that the two companies will cooperate with construction machinery manufacturers Caterpillar (Caterpillar) and Komatsu (Komatsu) to conduct independent tests on their battery electric transport trucks, including testing batteries, and static and dynamic charging systems to evaluate the performance and productivity of electric trucks in the Pilbara mining environment.

The test represents the first phase of battery electric transport truck testing in the Pilbara region by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The two companies aim to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from their operations by 2050.

As part of the partnership, two CAT 793 trucks will be tested starting in the second half of 2024, and the two Komatsu 930 trucks will be tested starting in 2026.

Simon Trott, CEO of Rio Trott, said, “As we work to re-power our business in the Pilbara region with renewable energy, this type of collaboration brings us closer to solving the common challenge of decarbonizing our business and meeting our net zero commitment.”

Geraldine Slack, president of BHP Billiton Australia, said, “Replacing diesel as a fuel source requires us to develop a new operating ecosystem around our fleet. We need to address how we plan our mines and operate transportation networks, and consider the additional safety and operational considerations these changes will bring. That's the importance of testing.”

“We want to reduce the amount of diesel used in our operations by developing battery-electric technology,” Sltery said.