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July 14, 2023
Vale partners with Wabtec on ammonia
fuel study and orders three FLXdrive battery electric locomotives
Brazil-based metals and mining multinational Vale
announced a partnership with Wabtec Corporation to advance the
decarbonization of Vale’s rail operations. The deal includes an order
for three of Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery locomotives and a collaboration
to test ammonia as a potential clean, alternative fuel to replace
diesel.
The three 100% battery-powered FLXdrive locomotives will be used on
the Carajás Railroad (EFC), which runs the world’s largest iron ore
train consisting of 330 railcars transporting 45,000 tons. Today,
three to four diesel locomotives pull the train. The EFC runs 972 km
(604 miles) from the Carajás Mine in Pará—the world’s largest open pit
iron ore mine—to the Maritime Terminal of Ponta da Madeira, in
Maranhão. Currently, the complex is responsible for 150 million tonnes
of iron per year.
![](images/images_07_14_2023/pic1.jpg)
July 2018 Landsat image of the Serra Norte
complex of the Carajás Mine.
Once delivered, the FLXdrives will join the diesel locomotives to form
Brazil’s first hybrid consist (earlier post) pulling the train uphill
for 140 kilometers in Açailândia, in the state of Maranhão, where fuel
consumption is the highest. The FLXdrives will replace the two diesel
locomotives, known as “dynamic helpers”, that are used to pull the
train uphill today.
![](images/images_07_14_2023/pic2.jpg)
![](images/images_07_14_2023/6a00d8341c4fbe53ef02b751aafaa6200c-500wi.png)
FLXDrive locomotive similar to those acquired by
Vale. Credit: Wabtec
Wabtec will build the FLXdrive locomotives at its
plant in Contagem (state of Minas Gerais). The locomotives’ delivery
is forecast for 2026.
Initially, we are maximizing energy
efficiency, replacing the diesel locomotives in the dynamic helper
with battery ones, but the idea is that, in the future, the other
locomotives on the train can be fueled by ammonia. This way, we would
have a clean operation at EFC. This agreement is the first of many
that we are seeking in order to accelerate the decarbonization of our
railway operation.
—Vale’s Director of Energy, Ludmila Nascimento
Vale and Wabtec will work together on a study to
use ammonia as a clean alternative fuel, which does not emit CO2. The
study will initially be carried out as lab tests to validate
performance, emission reductions, and feasibility. Among the
advantages of ammonia is the fact that it allows the locomotive a
longer range than other carbon-free fuels. In addition, ammonia has a
high-octane rating and an established large-scale distribution
infrastructure. The two companies will carry out the study in a
laboratory over the next two years.
The FLXdrive locomotive’s energy management system recharges the
batteries along the route as the train brakes.
It’s what we call regenerative energy
produced by dynamic braking. Today, that energy is lost when a
traditional locomotive brakes. In the downhill sections, we will be
able to recharge the batteries, without having to stop the train’s
operation.
—Alexandre Silva, Manager of Vale’s Powershift Program.
Vale introduced the Powershift Program to study
alternative technologies to replace fossil fuels with clean sources in
the company’s operations.
The FLXdrive locomotives are estimated to save 25 million litres of
diesel per year, considering the consumption of all the railway's
trains that use the dynamic helper. This savings would reduce carbon
emissions by approximately 63,000 tons—the equivalent emissions of
around 14,000 passenger cars per year.
Net Zero. In 2020, Vale announced an investment of between US $4 and
$6 billion to reduce its direct and indirect emissions (scopes 1 and
2) by 33% by 2030. Today, Vale’s rail network represents 10% of the
company’s carbon emissions. The initiative is one more step towards
achieving the goal of zero emissions net carbon emissions by 2050, in
line with the ambition of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming
to below 2°C by the end of the century. The company also committed to
reducing its net emissions from its value chain (scope 3) by 15% by
2035.
One of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and nickel and a
major copper producer, Vale is headquartered in Brazil and operates
around the world. Its operations comprise integrated logistics
systems, including approximately 2,000 kilometers of railways, marine
terminals and 10 ports distributed around the globe.
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
Nathan1@greenplayammonia.com
exactrix@exactrix.com
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