BHP haul-truck trial faces reported static-charging downtime risk
A reported static-charging downtime estimate raises a productivity question for BHP’s Jimblebar electric-truck trial, while Fortescue outlines a faster-charging fleet plan.
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Reported charging constraint puts productivity in focus
A reported estimate of charging-related downtime has added a productivity question to BHP’s battery-electric haul-truck trial in Western Australia’s Pilbara. On 18 September, ad-hoc-news relayed TradingKey’s account of disclosures from a 16 September ESG roundtable: under static-charging constraints, battery-electric trucks could lose up to 1000 hours of operating time per truck annually. That is a potential outcome under the stated charging conditions, not a measured result from the two trucks being trialled at BHP’s Jimblebar mine. It does not establish that the trial has stopped. 13
The ABC reported in July that BHP and Rio Tinto were testing whether battery-electric trucks could work at the scale required by their mining operations. A truck that must leave its operating cycle to recharge poses a different scheduling challenge from one that can be refuelled quickly. Caterpillar vice-president Thad Litkenhus outlined charging while a truck is moving as one possible approach; the ABC said in July that it was due to be trialled at Jimblebar in the following months. 3
Two trial trucks, alongside a new diesel fleet
According to the ABC, two Caterpillar Early Learner trucks arrived at Jimblebar in December and were presented by BHP and Rio Tinto at a launch in late June. The ABC described them as 240-tonne machines with 480kW motors. BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery said they had undergone on-site testing. The ABC reported that neither truck was planned for deployment at a Rio Tinto mine; Rio Tinto was waiting to assess the Jimblebar results. 3
The trial sits alongside a much larger diesel purchase. The ABC’s Four Corners investigation reported in May that BHP bought 62 new diesel trucks for Jimblebar after considering an overhaul of existing trucks to extend their lives while it prepared to electrify. The investigation found the purchase could keep diesel trucks operating there until at least the late 2030s and potentially to 2041. In July, the ABC put the fleet’s value at about $500 million. Slattery said then that it was too early to say whether BHP would retire those trucks early if the electric trial succeeded. 43
Power projects and BHP’s timetable
Four Corners reported that BHP halted a board-approved, $400-million solar-and-battery project at Jimblebar. A subsequent, larger renewable-energy plan included solar, wind and batteries; BHP had said the $1.3-billion project would generate enough power to begin supplying its first electric trucks and trains. Documents cited by Four Corners said that project would not proceed in its existing form and showed no further spending planned on it until 2031. 4
BHP had previously told investors it expected its first electric trucks to operate in the Pilbara by 2027, according to Four Corners. Responding to the program in May, BHP said large-haul-truck technology was not sufficiently advanced to scale to an operational fleet. At the June trial launch, Slattery said decisions about fleets and infrastructure would follow a better understanding of the technology and its operation at Jimblebar. Those positions do not amount to a date for replacing the mine’s diesel fleet. 43
Fortescue’s charging and replacement plans
Fortescue is pursuing a different fleet timetable and charging approach. It says it is deploying 6MW fast chargers capable of recharging its 240-tonne haul trucks in under 30 minutes, with charging aligned to its operating cycles. That is Fortescue’s stated capability, not a verified charging result for BHP’s Caterpillar trucks. The ABC reported in July that Fortescue planned to replace many diesel drivetrains with battery-electric versions by October 2026. It also reported phased deliveries of a further 200 zero-emission XCMG haulers were planned from 2028 to 2030. 53
Fortescue says its plan would remove more than 800 diesel-powered assets by 2030 and avoid burning almost one billion litres of diesel-equivalent annually. These are projected outcomes, not completed fleet changes. Fortune reported on 23 September that Fortescue expected to invest about $6.2 billion by 2030 in its wider decarbonisation programme, including renewable generation and battery storage. Fortune also cited Mandala Partners’ estimate that the company’s emissions rose 24 per cent between 2020 and 2025; Fortescue attributed that increase to the opening of its Iron Bridge mine. 52
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