Published on 27 May 2024 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance
BHP & Rio Tinto (RIO) Team up for Electric Haul Truck Trials
BHP Group BHP has joined forces with Rio Tinto RIO to trial large battery-powered haul trucks manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. CAT and Komatsu KMTUY. This testing, set to take place in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, aims to accelerate the potential deployment of these trucks. This collaboration between two leading global miners with two of the world’s largest haul truck manufacturers also seeks to address the critical challenge of zero-emissions haulage.
The trials will kick off in the second half of 2024 with two Cat 793 haul trucks. This will be followed by two Komatsu 930 haul trucks in 2026. BHP will trial the Caterpillar trucks, while Rio Tinto will test the Komatsu trucks. In 2021, Rio Tinto and BHP worked with both Caterpillar and Komatsu to support the development and validation of their prototype battery-electric haul trucks. The trucks included in the current trials are based on these prototypes.