Liebherr and Fortescue partner on world’s first autonomous electric haul truck
In what both companies claim to be a world’s first, Liebherr and Fortescue have announced plans to jointly develop a fully Autonomous Haulage Solution (AHS) for their massive, 264-ton BEV-converted electric haul trucks.
The on-site validation of a fleet of the four zero emission Liebherr T 264 autonomous trucks equipped with AHS is already underway, having begun earlier this month at a purpose-built facility at the Fortescue Christmas Creek mine. That’s the same active mining site that’s also testing Liebherr’s BEV-converted excavator.
“With our teams now fully integrated, Liebherr is excited to formally announce our partnership with Fortescue to collectively develop and deploy our Autonomous Haulage Solution,” says Oliver Weiss, Executive Vice President, R&D, Engineering, and Production, Liebherr Mining. “Liebherr has always prioritised market-led product development and we are privileged to be partnering with Fortescue. Our collaborative efforts will be beneficial for not only Fortescue, but all customers who choose to implement Liebherr technology products on their sites.”
As part of the development of AHS, Liebherr and Fortescue will develop an integrated Fleet Management System and a Machine Guidance Solution (no acronyms there, apparently), capable of being used independently alongside human-operated machines.
Upon completion of the AHS’ validation cycle, the Autonomous Haulage Solution will be deployed across all the global Fortescue mining sites.
“This development will allow us to offer the global market a complete AHS,” says Weiss. “These innovative technologies form part of our expanding range of technology products and are another step forward in our strategy to become a total solution provider for the mining industry.”
Liebherr will begin offering AHS to other mining customers as the company continues to expand its autonomous tech portfolio.
Electrek’s Take
As we discussed in our special mining episode of Quick Charge, mines are great applications for both autonomous trucks and battery-electric vehicles. I think I said it well enough there to repost the video, below, and argue out the details in the comments. Enjoy!
Quick Charge mining episode
SOURCE | IMAGES: Liebherr, via the Driven.