The world's heavy industry continues to play a vital role in the global economy, but decarbonization is still very difficult to achieve.

And one of the factors contributing to the industry's carbon emissions problem is the energy required to transport large quantities of heavy raw materials over long distances. For example, items such as iron ore.

To address this issue, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, an Australian mining company (Australia's third largest iron ore exporter, founded in 2003), has developed a zero-emission electric train to transport its iron ore.

The train was developed in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering and includes a number of technology developments, the most important of which is the train's ability to recharge itself using gravitational energy.

When a fully loaded train passes through a downhill section, gravitational potential energy is collected and used to recharge the train's batteries. Developers say this means there is no need to install separate charging infrastructure or renewable energy generation capacity and have given the train the nickname "infinity train" (infinity train).

The infinity train will not only accelerate Fortescue's progress toward net zero emissions by 2030, but it will also reduce our operating costs and create maintenance efficiencies and productivity opportunities," explained Andrew Forrest, Ph.D., founder, and chairman of Fortescue.

As a company that is planning to transform itself into a global green energy and resources company, and in order to achieve this goal, Fortescue recently announced the acquisition of Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) and is looking to further invest in sustainable technologies.

After the acquisition, WAE will remain an independent company, while its important battery technology division will be closely coordinated with Fortescue. Both companies will be managed by Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), Fortescue's green energy, technology, and development company.

Following the announcement of the acquisition, WAE CEO Craig Wilson commented, "High-performance batteries and electrification systems are at the heart of what we do, and now that we are part of the Fortescue family, it provides an exciting opportunity to develop new technologies as we work together to combat climate change. "

Transporting raw materials sustainably is an important and positive innovation, and innovations like this will be needed on multiple fronts. the IEA report states that "accelerating innovation over the next decade will be critical to achieving technology deployment beyond 2030".

The model of large established companies (e.g. Fortescue) partnering with sustainable technology experts (e.g. WAE) is an important pathway to achieve this innovation goal.