BHP and Toyota Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding to electrify the mining giant’s fleet of 5000 vehicles.
At present, the company’s mine sites host predominantly diesel-powered Toyota LandCruisers and HiLuxes.
BHP president Australia Geraldine Slattery said an EV fleet was at the centre of the company’s drive to reduce emissions.
“Collaborating with leading suppliers like Toyota shows our clear commitment to developing shared solutions for a safer and more sustainable future,” she said.
The EV push, announced on Thursday, is part of a broader agreement between the two commercial titans to decarbonise BHP’s Australian operations and deliver safety gains on site.
“A primary objective of the collaboration is to work together across safety, engineering and product development teams focused on safety in light vehicles design and future state technologies and challenges,” BHP stated today.
“Through this MOU, BHP will gain access to the knowledge and resources of Toyota’s expert engineering teams across Australia and globally and aims to support BHP in realising its broader decarbonisation goals.”
The commodities behemoth is also embedding electric haul trucks at its sites through partnerships with Caterpillar and Komatsu and electric locomotives with Wabtec and Progress Rail.
BHP is pursuing a 30 per cent reduction in operational emissions by 2030.