BHP Group buys 2 battery-electric locomotives for Pilbara iron ore ops

BHP Group purchased two battery-electric locomotives from Pennsylvania-based Wabtec Corp. to use at its iron ore operations in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

The acquisition of the new 7-MWh FLXdrive locomotives forms part of the mining giant's plans to decarbonize its rail network, it said in a Jan. 16 statement.

The two engines are scheduled to be delivered in 2023. BHP Group now uses four diesel-electric locomotives in Western Australia to pull trains consisting of about 270 cars carrying 38,000 tons of iron ore to the port, and the new locomotives will be joined to form a hybrid train system.

"Rail is the fundamental link in our pit-to-port value chain, and the power required to deliver fully-laden iron ore wagons from the Pilbara to Port Hedland is significant," Brandon Craig, president of the company's Western Australia Iron Ore asset, said in the statement.

"The FLXdrive ... will provide BHP with the tractive effort, fuel savings, emissions reductions and reliability to cost-effectively run their rail operations," said Rogerio Mendonca, Wabtec's president of freight equipment.