Vale, Komatsu, and Cummins to develop dual fuel large trucks

Vale, Komatsu, and Cummins have announced a groundbreaking collaboration to develop dual fuel large trucks powered by ethanol and diesel fuel. This initiative aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions in mining operations and is a critical step toward achieving Vale’s decarbonisation goals.

The Dual Fuel Program is part of Vale’s commitment to reduce scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 33% by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The program focuses on retrofitting existing diesel engines in haul trucks to run on a mix of ethanol and diesel fuel, which could reduce direct CO2 emissions by up to 70%.

“Removing a fossil fuel like diesel from our mine operations is fundamental to achieving our decarbonisation targets,” said José Baltazar, engineering director for Mine and Plant Operations at Vale, a global mining company headquartered in Brazil and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and nickel.  The ability to retrofit existing trucks without needing immediate new purchases aligns with Vale’s focus on reliability and production efficiency.

Collaborative efforts

“We are constantly developing and testing solutions to achieve our carbon reduction targets by 2030. This partnership will go a long way in reaching our collective goals,” said Benjamin Stear, EDT product manager at Komatsu, a leading provider of technologies, equipment, and services for the construction, mining, and industrial markets headquartered in Japan. “We look forward to partnering with our customers through the DF change management process while maintaining productive operations to reach our emission reduction goals.”

Over the next two years, the project is anticipated to include the development, testing and implementation of ethanol-diesel engines manufactured by Cummins. This initiative is crucial as diesel emissions from mine operations account for 15% of Vale’s direct CO2 emissions, with haul trucks being the largest consumers of diesel fuel. The decision to develop an ethanol-based solution is driven by its availability within existing supplier networks and high adoption rate in Brazil.

“We have to take advantage of Brazil’s competitive edge in biofuels, since we are one of the world’s largest ethanol producers,” says Ludmila Nascimento, energy and decarbonisation director at Vale. “With this partnership, we can reduce our direct emissions by 2030 with a competitive solution, and also contribute to strengthening this low-emission industry in Brazil.”

Luke Mosier, mining product planning & strategy manager at Cummins, highlighted: “Komatsu and Vale are two organisations that share Cummins’ commitment to innovation and accelerating carbon footprint reductions. It will be fantastic to contribute our internal combustion engine expertise on this project that will see further advancement of future ready technology.”