For the energy-intensive mining industry, decarbonization efforts and planning for a clean energy future have become imperative. Stakeholders require commitment and action to decarbonize, and mining executives all agree that addressing climate change remains a top priority and is central to their license to operate.

This journey towards decarbonization is illustrated by the acceleration by major miners to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and not only to meet mid-term targets, but to achieve carbon neutrality for 100 percent of their portfolio by 2050 or sooner. In an effort to meet these targets, some major miners have committed to making significant financial investments: Vale’s commitment of at least $2 billion in initiatives to reduce the company's carbon emissions by 33 percent by 2030 is said to be “the largest ever committed by the mining industry to combat climate change,” and Newmont announced a $500 million commitment over the next five years towards clean energy projects.

The journey is not solely the responsibility of the major miners. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) integrators are also contributing to a clean energy future through R&D and technological advancements and by a commitment to exit the coal power market.

In 2020, several industry heavyweights announced their departure from the coal market: General Electric announced its exit from the new-build coal power market on day one of Climate Week NYC. Six weeks later, Toshiba (construction) and Siemens (turbines) each announced their exits from the new coal-fired plant market.

Black & Veatch also announced an exit from the coal power market in 2020 in support of accelerating the path to net zero: “The transition away from any coal-related activity is about our commitment as a company to sustainability and accelerating our efforts to lead the emerging carbon-free energy future,” said Steve Edwards, CEO of Black & Veatch.

How does an industry—massive in scale, scope and highly complex in mine-life planning, including integration with multiple industry OEMs and project delivery partners—make such sweeping changes in less than a typical lifespan of a world-class asset? How do you optimize your decarbonization road-mapping and evaluate competing conventional and emerging technologies that lead to carbon neutrality while still meeting the requirements of a sound business case?

At the Energy and Mines Virtual World Congress in December 2020, common themes emerged in mining companies’ GHG emission reduction targets, approaches and roadmaps. Central to these discussions were mid-term targets of one-third reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050, achieved by focusing on renewable energy integration, mobile equipment electrification and operational efficiencies, including digitization and data analytics.

Renewable energy (RE) has primarily been taking the form of new green Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for grid-connected mines and dedicated RE site installations for remote mines, with battery energy storage systems becoming more prevalent. Repowering to cleaner energy sources is another common solution for achieving mid-term GHG reduction targets. Mine mobile equipment electrification (including hydrogen power) targeting the diesel GHG emissions is a more challenging area, especially for large surface mining equipment.

While renewable/clean energy solutions are deployable now, technology for large mining equipment and heavy transport equipment is still developing. Supporting these developments and the evolution of an industry is the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), a global organization dedicated to a safe, fair and sustainable mining and metals industry that brings together members representing 27 of the world’s major mining houses that contribute to a significant share of the total metal production. Their Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles (ICSV) initiative, a collaborative effort by its membership of global mining leaders and OEMs, aims to accelerate investment, innovation and the scaling of GHG emission-free mining vehicles. 

The challenges of finding the right solutions for electrifying a mine’s mobile equipment fleet go beyond OEM readiness and require evaluating the need for additional electrical capacity, installing electric or hydrogen charging infrastructure. Further, solutions will require innovative ways of collaborating and combining resources between miners, OEMs and EPCM integrators with diligent business case assessments, piloting programs, as well as significant mobile equipment and infrastructure investments.

An approach involving staging RE and electrification energy infrastructure solutions in correlation with the mine and existing equipment life cycle, and scaling up pilot projects, while keeping an eye on the ultimate carbon reduction goals, will require the rigour and attention that mine development and management have not previously seen.

Con la creciente presión en todos los sectores de la economía para reducir las emisiones de GEI, es imperativo que se compartan los conocimientos y las mejores prácticas entre las industrias. Los recursos disponibles para planificar, diseñar y construir la infraestructura necesaria para alcanzar los objetivos de reducción de emisiones pueden verse limitados. Los propietarios, los fabricantes y los integradores de EPCM deben innovar y colaborar para posicionarse con éxito.

Black and Veatch lleva décadas suministrando innovaciones y tecnologías pioneras de forma segura y fiable en los sectores de la energía, el petróleo y el gas, el medio ambiente y el transporte avanzado. Nombrados en la lista de los 10 mejores contratistas solares de Solar Power World, junto con nuestros socios, hemos participado en más de la mitad de los proyectos fotovoltaicos a escala de servicios públicos en América del Norte, ejecutando más de 1.500 megavatios (MWac) de proyectos de ingeniería, adquisición y construcción de energía solar fotovoltaica desde 2016.

Desde un proyecto como el despliegue de más de 1.000 puntos de recarga de vehículos eléctricos (EV) en todo Estados Unidos, hasta ser pioneros en el sistema de regasificación para la primera unidad de regasificación y almacenamiento de Gas Natural Líquido Flotante (FLNG) del mundo en Nantong (China), pasando por la prestación de servicios técnicos y de ingeniería para el primer proyecto de conversión de generación de energía de hidrógeno en Estados Unidos, nuestro talento global proporciona servicios integrales de planificación, localización, diseño y construcción para todo tipo de proyectos de desarrollo de recursos renovables, de gas natural y alternativos.

Como miembros recientes del Consejo del Hidrógeno, una iniciativa liderada por el CEO, Black and Veatch compartirá conocimientos y colaborará con socios globales, con el objetivo de convertir el hidrógeno en un componente central de una economía global sin emisiones de carbono, y continuará desarrollando, diseñando y construyendo soluciones de hidrógeno, desde el suministro de hidrógeno verde para la generación de energía, el almacenamiento y las soluciones avanzadas de transporte, hasta el procesamiento de hidrógeno azul con tecnología de captura de carbono.

Black and Veatch está adoptando medidas decisivas y mesuradas para su propia gestión medioambiental. Accelerate 0, nuestra Estrategia de Sostenibilidad 2020-2023, guiará la gestión y reducción de nuestra huella de carbono y el objetivo de cero emisiones netas de GEI para 2025. Estamos orgullosos de alinear nuestros esfuerzos con 12 de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU, y nos hemos convertido en firmantes de dos compromisos adicionales de la ONU que forman el núcleo de nuestra agenda de sostenibilidad, Caring for Climate y CEO Water Mandate.