Australia's Fortescue signs deals with China's top renewable energy firms

Fortescue, a West Australian company specializing in iron ore, said on Friday that it has signed partnerships with China's top renewable energy companies to create a powerful multilateral network of commercial cooperation.

The partnerships include the global leader in electric vehicles and in battery manufacturing and development BYD, solar technology and manufacturing giant Longi Green Energy Technology Co, construction and mining equipment manufacturer Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) as well as wind and energy storage leader Envision Energy.

These partnerships, announced in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, will not only enable Fortescue to electrify its Pilbara operations and deliver on its target of Real Zero by 2030, but also catalyze decarbonization globally, it said.

"The world once benefited from open trade and cooperation – now it is divided. Fortescue is showing that industry can help glue back that multilateral spirit, not through rhetoric but through practical alliances that prove heavy industry can follow a new path – one where profits rise as emissions fall," Fortescue Executive Chairman and Founder, Andrew Forrest, said.

"China is scaling and manufacturing green technologies at unprecedented speed and our partnerships give Fortescue access to that capability," he said.

According to Fortescue, BYD will supply its leading energy storage solutions, while Longi will supply its photovoltaic modules and solar technology, itself the lowest cost form of green energy generation.

Envision will supply its advanced wind turbine and integrated energy solution technologies that combine diverse renewable sources and optimize power availability.

Fortescue and XCMG have signed an agreement, with XCMG expected to supply up to half of Fortescue's future fleet of 300 to 400 zero-emissions 240-ton haul trucks, with phased deliveries planned from 2028 to 2030.

The deal will strengthen and diversify Fortescue's supply chain for battery electric trucks. It expands on the contract signed in November 2024 for battery electric ancillary mining equipment, then XCMG's largest green mining equipment order outside China, it said.