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

Vale and Komatsu have signed a pioneering agreement to develop and test, in partnership with Cummins, Dual Fuel haul trucks, powered by a mixture of ethanol and diesel. They will be the world’s first trucks of their size, with payloads of 230 to 290 tons, to run on ethanol, in a joint investment in research and development that demonstrates the commitment of all three companies to advancing sustainability in the mining industry.

The Dual Fuel Program will contribute to the achievement of Vale’s goals of reducing scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions (direct and indirect) by 33% by 2030 and becoming net-zero by 2050.

The program is a recognition of the necessity to reduce carbon emissions in mining operations. Its goals is to convert existing diesel engines in haul trucks to run on a mix of ethanol and diesel, thus making it considerably more sustainable. The retrofitted trucks will be capable of using up to 70% ethanol and reducing direct CO2 emissions by up to 70%.

Diesel emissions from mine operations account for 15% of Vale’s direct CO2 emissions. Among mine equipment, the haul truck is the biggest consumer of diesel and therefore the biggest emitter. The decision to develop an ethanol-based solution is driven by its availability within existing supplier networks and high adoption rate in Brazil.