Brazilian mining giant Vale is planning to replace diesel used to transport iron ore by train and truck with other fuels to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, the company consumes 1bn liters of diesel a year in rail and truck transportation.
In the case of railways, the company is planning to gradually replace diesel with green hydrogen and ammonia, while in trucks it intends to use ethanol, a company spokesperson told BNamericas.
The move is part of Vale’s efforts to reduce emissions by 33% in its operations by 2030 and by 15% among steelmakers and other customers by 2035. Vale’s goal is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Currently we look at the expansion of storage systems as a fundamental business unit for us. The mining sector needs a lot of energy and many companies suffer from the reliability of their energy systems. Because of this, it may be interesting for these companies to look at storage systems,” Roberto Valer, the technical director of Chia’s Huawei Digital Power, told BNamericas.
Vale’s decarbonization plan for transport is part of a trend in Brazil, with the federal government encouraging a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“We want to encourage the electrification of fleets used in public transport in the country’s main cities. As part of this plan, we want to re-establish a national industry to produce electric buses,” Adalberto Maluf Filho, urban environment secretary at the environment and climate change ministry, told BNamericas.
