Vale, Cummins and Komatsu advance joint plan for mining engines with dual fuel

Vale announces that its partner, Cummins Inc., has successfully commissioned a new ethanol fuel test cell, marking a significant milestone in the companies' joint project with Komatsu to develop ethanol/diesel-powered haul trucks for open-pit mining, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This achievement underscores the three companies' shared commitment to decarbonizing the mining industry and advancing sustainable energy solutions. Announced in July 2024, this dual-fuel initiative aims to retrofit Komatsu haul trucks' existing diesel engines to run on both ethanol and diesel, significantly enhancing sustainability. These retrofitted 230-290-tonne haul trucks—the first of their kind to use tank ethanol—will be capable of using up to 70% ethanol, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by up to 70%. Testing of the QSK60 engine is expected to continue until 2026, followed by field testing at Komatsu's facilities.

Carlos Medeiros, Vale's Executive Vice President of Operations, said: “Our decarbonization projects continue to advance, further solidifying Vale's commitment to this issue. Ethanol is a priority investment for us to achieve our goal of reducing diesel use in our operations while maintaining reliability and operational excellence.” Vale has set a target to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 33% by 2030. In mining equipment, haul trucks are one of the largest consumers of diesel and therefore a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The choice of ethanol as a diesel substitute is logical given its widespread use in Brazil and the mature supply network.

Luke Mosier, Cummins' Head of Innovation Projects, said: “Ethanol/methanol diesel dual-fuel systems offer significant advantages to the mining industry, including achieving up to approximately 70% decarbonization, reducing harmful emissions such as CO2, NOx, and particulate matter, while continuing to meet equivalent productivity and performance requirements. Importantly, miners using alternative fuels can leverage existing infrastructure and make full use of existing fleets, facilities, and personnel.”

Dan Funcannon, Komatsu's Senior Vice President of Surface Transportation, said: “The dual-fuel project we are developing in close collaboration with Cummins, using a blend of ethanol and diesel, is an important bridging technology to support Vale's near-term decarbonization goals. This initiative reflects our shared commitment to developing practical, scalable solutions to drive sustainable mining. The commissioning of the dedicated test cell is an exciting milestone, and we will continue to develop and deploy low-carbon technologies for future transportation.” Cummins' low-carbon fuel test cell accommodates a range of high-horsepower engines (fuel capacity from 38 liters to 95 liters) and ensures seamless switching between various alternative fuel types in various test scenarios. These dedicated facilities also maintain a high-precision environment to provide accurate emissions data and reliable data, and provide secure storage conditions to prevent contamination and maintain fuel quality.

In response to the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, Vale announced a target to reduce its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 33% by 2030 and aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The company also pledged to reduce emissions from its value chain (Scope 3) by 15% by 2035. To date, Vale has invested a total of US$1.4 billion in decarbonization initiatives to achieve these goals.