Komatsu Forms Alliance with Mining Companies in an Approach to Sustainable Mining
Komatsu has announced a collaborative customer alliance to advance zero-emission equipment solutions. It is being called the Komatsu Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Alliance. The founding members of the alliance are Rio Tinto, BHP, Codelco and Boliden.
BHP will provide engineering and technical resources to Komatsu to support the development phase as required. These activities will provide BHP with real-time access to technology in development, with Komatsu drawing upon BHP’s mining expertise to accelerate its path to market. Additionally, BHP and Komatsu will collaborate through the BHP FutureFit Academy to develop the future facing skills in their teams to operate and maintain this pioneering equipment. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto will conduct a pre-production trial of the new equipment at a Rio Tinto site and will have the option to purchase some of the first trucks from Komatsu once they are commercially viable.
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. 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.
“We are honored 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,” said Masayuki Moriyama, president of Komatsu’s Mining Business Division. “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.”
Komatsu intends to expand the alliance to additional mining companies to enhance industry-wide collaboration on solutions to decarbonization.
Komatsu states that it a company that is committed to minimizing environmental impact through its business, targeting a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions from 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.
The company has worked to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for customers through innovative product development for decades in many areas including electric diesel dump trucks, electric power shovels, regenerative energy storage capabilities and fuel saver programs.
Komatsu’s power agnostic development truck will undergo testing at a Komatsu facility in the United States. 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 Sept. 13 in Las Vegas.
Sources: Komatsu BHP Rio-Tinto
