The first hydrogen-powered T 264 haul truck prototype, developed by Liebherr and Fortescue, has arrived on site at Fortescue’s Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for testing in a real-life mining environment.

The site-based testing of this T 264 prototype, known as Europa, will take place over the coming months and will help inform Fortescue’s future fleet of zero emission haul trucks, Liebherr says.

Oliver Weiss, Executive Vice President of R&D, Engineering and Production, Liebherr-Mining Equipment SAS, said: “Liebherr and Fortescue are aligned in the belief that hydrogen and hydrogen carriers, such as ammonia, will play an important role in supporting the mine decarbonisation additional to electrification. What we learn from this hybrid truck will significantly shape and enhance our future development strategies for zero emission haulage. The integration of a Fortescue Zero battery into a Liebherr haul truck marks a huge milestone in the partnership between the two companies. It is fascinating to see how this cooperation helps to fast track our planned developments of new technology from ideas to demonstration and operation in the field.”

Europa contains a 1.6 MWh battery (developed in-house by Fortescue WAE) and 500 kW of fuel cells. The prototype can store over 380 kg of liquid hydrogen.

Dino Otranto, CEO, Fortescue Metals, added: “It’s fantastic to have our hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype now joining its battery-electric equivalent, Roadrunner, up at site.”

Once commissioned on site, Europa will be refuelled with liquid hydrogen from a gaseous and liquid hydrogen plant located at Fortescue’s Green Energy Hub at Christmas Creek.

Liebherr and Fortescue have been working together to develop zero-emission haul trucks since the collaboration was announced in 2022. Recently, the companies announced their collaboration to co-develop and validate a fully integrated Autonomous Haulage Solution.

Otranto added: “This deployment of Europa builds on our wider collaboration with Liebherr, where we are working together to develop and validate a fully integrated Autonomous Haulage Solution, which we’re aiming to be the first to operate in zero emission vehicles globally. To decarbonise mining you need a system solution, so this new operating system, which integrates a fleet management system and energy management, will be a game changer for Fortescue in reducing our carbon emissions.”