Aggreko says it is ready to apply big, bold ideas to supply renewable energy to miners, with one such idea being the use of state-of-the-art mobile and containerised photovoltaic (PV) solutions.

Rod Saffy, the Global Head of Mining at Aggreko, said miners were constantly looking for innovative power solutions to help companies achieve their emission targets.

“Where there once may have been a reluctance to embrace new technology, miners are now needing it – asking us for bold ideas,” he said. “As a result, most of our new technology is finding its way into the mining space before it is finding its way into other sectors.”

Lars Stephan, who heads strategy and markets at Aggreko’s renewable division, echoed Saffy’s comments, suggesting the next few years alone would result in a massive transformation of the mining sector as miners incorporated renewables to their energy mix.

“Our hybrid projects, such as the Granny Smith project, are quite ahead of the curve and undoubtedly will be transported to the rest of the mining industry and to the rest of the world as well,” Stephan said.

Aggreko says it has multiple teams dedicated specifically to bringing new and innovative technology to customers, with the terms innovation and technology being at the heart of its values and strategic direction, he added.

“New technology our teams are currently looking at across different sectors include green hydrogen, modular wind solution and re-deployable solar solutions,” he said. “We are certainly scanning to see what will become relevant to our customers.”

In mining specifically, Nicolas Boruchowicz, Head of Renewables and Energy Storage solutions, said Aggreko was now trialling state-of-the-art mobile and containerised PV solutions, after securing four major solar contracts to power mines throughout their lifecycle.

“While bringing the benefits of solar integration, those units will be highly mobile, and provide flexible solar power to mines and rural communities for a shorter contract duration of below five years or even months,” he said. “This innovation has the potential to open the door to more renewable power for the mining industry and in locations that previously seemed out of scope.”

Aggreko is one of the only power companies of its kind to align itself with the big miners, committed to reduce its carbon emissions and its use of diesel with customers by 50% by 2030 and achieving net-zero across its fleet by 2050.

When asked if he had one piece of advice for the mining sector today, Saffy said: “Whatever you do, don’t make a long-term investment in an energy source. In today’s fast evolving energy landscape, long-term commitments may lead to stranded assets and tied up capital, especially with the constant innovation in energy technology.

“We offer a risk free, 100% reliable solution, addressing your immediate requirements and staying flexible with the energy source as it evolves into the future. We don’t know right now what technologies will help get us to net zero by 2050 but we will continue to search the market for innovation and work with our mining customers to get there.”