A multinational resources company will roll out autonomous and environmentally friendly heavy vehicles.
Rio Tinto recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Volvo Group to pilot electric automated haul trucks.
The deal involves Rio supplying “responsibly sourced low-carbon” lithium, RenewAlTM aluminium, copper and other metallics to Volvo Autonomous Solutions. These raw materials are promised to create zero carbon during the smelting process before being used to manufacture battery powered, driverless machinery across Rio’s global mine sites.
This transport as a service encompasses purpose-built autonomous vehicles, virtual drivers, infrastructure, operations and uptime support. It also includes a cloud solution to control the transport system and manage logistics flows, which is promised to improve mine safety, productivity and sustainability.
“[This is] a true collaboration aiming to accelerate our ambitions towards a fossil-free, decarbonised future. By addressing the full value chain, from the use of low-carbon materials in our products to providing our customers with sustainable autonomous hauling solutions, we can contribute to a better and more sustainable future,” Volvo president and CEO Martin Lundstedt said in a public statement.
“We will be working together to support the decarbonisation of Rio Tinto’s operations and deliver low-carbon materials for use in Volvo’s innovative product range, including electric and autonomous vehicles,” Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm added.
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