00:02Pilbara miner Fortescue claims its green future has arrived.
00:08This is one of two battery powered locomotives built for Andrew Forrest's iron ore giant.
00:14What you see behind us is the equivalent of two to three hundred average electric vehicles that you may have
00:20at home.
00:21It's the latest tool in the race to decarbonise.
00:26It is fun to drive, it's a little bit different.
00:30So far enjoyable and learning more and more about them is making it easier.
00:36Spanning more than 2,000 kilometres of heavy haulage rail,
00:41the transport of iron ore from pit to port burns a huge amount of fuel.
00:46The Pilbara region contributes about 40 per cent of WA's carbon emissions,
00:51despite being home to just a fraction of the population.
00:55Fortescue says the two battery powered locos will save them one million litres of diesel a year.
01:01But 70 diesel powered machines still make up the majority of Fortescue's fleet.
01:07Electrifying the Pilbara's diesel guzzling machinery will be critical to lower carbon emissions and reach net zero targets.
01:13But some experts say the major miners have dragged their feet.
01:17Rio Tinto promised to bring its battery electric locomotives online by 2024, a stop they've missed.
01:24In a statement, the company said battery technology was not yet viable for their Pilbara rail operations.
01:30Meanwhile, BHP is trialling a pair of its own battery electric locomotives, but doesn't have a timeline for a wider
01:36rollout.
01:37It's so much cheaper than all of those diesel trucks and diesel trains,
01:43and it will be something that they regret for not going down this track sooner.
01:51Fortescue's locomotives will be charged using renewable energy.
01:55The company says it's on track to achieve zero emissions with zero offsets by 2030.
02:00Do not vary.
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