Mining giant retrofits 240-ton diesel truck fleet with batteries that charge in 30 minutes on record 6MW EV charger

The world's fastest electric vehicle charger announced to date will be able to fill up the enormous 1.9 MWh battery capacity of an electrified mining truck in 30 minutes.

The charger outputs the whopping 6 megawatts (MW) of power and has been developed by Australian mining giant Fortescue as part of its Real Zero Climate Transition Plan.

According to said plan, Fortescue has set aside $2.8 billion to switch its dozers, excavators, and monstrous haul trucks from diesel to electric power in the next few years.

Fortescue's hundreds of 240-ton Liebherr T 264 haul trucks, for instance, are being converted to autonomous battery-electric models by swapping their Cummins QSK 60 engines with giant 1.9 MWh battery packs.

"Fortescue Zero developed this battery technology and jointly developed the Automated Haulage Solution, leading the way to provide green innovative solutions to eliminate emissions from heavy industry," informs Andrew Forrest, its Executive Chairman.

Huge mining trucks that run on diesel emit 192 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, and the industry is prime for electrification to meet climate goals and the respective regulations.

So far, commercial EV chargers have topped out at ABB's 3.75 MW output, or the maximum that the newly minted Megawatt Charging System (MCS) standard for commercial vehicles will be approved for.

Needless to say, even that wouldn't have been enough for the autonomous electric T 264 haul trucks that weigh 240 tons and are powered by 1.9 MWh batteries, so Fortescue had to develop its own 6 MW solution that will be put into operation in 2026.

For comparison, the Tesla Semi Megachargers that Pepsi has rolled out deliver 750 kW of power, while Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) is rated for 1 MW maximums.

When it comes to passenger EVs, the fastest charger announced so far have been XPeng's 800 kW S5 piles that it says can deliver 187 miles of range in 5 minutes. It remains to be seen what Fortescue's 6 MW chargers will look like and how are they going to be cooled to deliver this record output.

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