While much of the focus in heavy industries is on decarbonising equipment, site facilities could be the next key area in the pursuit of net zero.
Decarbonisation is the name of the game for many bulk handling operations within Australia.
That is best exemplified in Australia’s heavy industries, which are some of the country’s largest bulk materials sectors, as businesses pursue their net-zero targets.
In mining and quarrying, much focus has been given to how machinery can be transitioned to electric drives or alternative fuels. This peaked last year when Fortescue signed an equipment partnership agreement with Liebherr to develop zero-emission technology and solutions.
According to Fortescue, the deal, worth US$2.8 billion, could create one of the “world’s largest zero-emission mining fleets” as part of its transition from conventional fossil fuels.
Liebherr will supply 475 new machines, while Fortescue’s technology arm, Fortescue Zero, will provide a zero-emission battery power system for the battery-electric trucks and PR 776, Liebherr’s flagship dozer.
The agreement is Liebherr’s biggest deal in its 75-year history and Fortescue’s largest single contract. In another way, it highlights companies’ urgency to decarbonise their operations as their net-zero deadlines approach as 2030 draws near.
“‘This is an important next step in our 2030 Real Zero target – to eliminate emissions from our Australian iron ore operations by the end of the decade,” Andrew Forrest, founder of Fortescue said.
“We invite all companies in the mining, heavy industry and haulage sectors to join us. The solutions are there, and the missing ingredient is leadership.”
As companies pursue their net-zero ambitions, many may wonder what other avenues can be explored to reduce carbon emissions. An example of the next frontier for emissions reduction lies in Berrima.
Once a major town, Berrima is now a historic village that sits between Sydney and the Australian capital of Canberra.
For those in Australia’s heavy industries and construction sector in New South Wales, the Berrima Cement Works, owned and operated by Boral, is a recognisable name. According to the Australian construction materials producer, Berrima supplies up to 40 per cent of the cement in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory.
The long-standing facility was opened in 1929 after two years of construction and helped create New Berrima in 1928 for the cement workers to live in. It currently employs 115 people in operational and administrative roles and contributes to a further 350 roles across integrated sites in the Southern Highlands. This, along with its indirect contribution to other jobs and industries, makes it one of the largest employers in the local government area of Wingecarribee.
Despite its almost 100-year history, one of its most significant chapters occurred when Boral unveiled a series of upgrades at Berrima Cement Works at the end of 2024.
The upgrades were supported by funding from the Federal and the NSW governments.
Federal Minister for Energy and Climate Change Chris Bowen attended the ceremony of the upgraded site alongside Boral chief executive officer Vik Bansal before the pair engaged in a site tour to showcase the size and scope of the cement facility.
Bansal, who has led Boral since 2022, said the company is earnestly taking its responsibilities under the Safeguard Mechanism and its net-zero target.
“We all understand that though cement is vital to construction and building our nation, it is carbon intensive. Boral takes its responsibility to decarbonise our operations and comply with the Safeguard Mechanism obligations seriously,” he said.
The cornerstone of the upgrades is a chlorine bypass facility, which will the build-up of chlorides and other alternative fuel by-products during production.
According to Boral, this facility will enable to site to increase its alternative fuel usage to around 60 per cent over the next three years and transition from fossil fuels, which will help reduce carbon emissions.
The company has estimated this will reduce the emissions by 150,000 tonnes per year.
“The chlorine bypass facility reaffirms this commitment and moves our vital cement manufacturing infrastructure and Southern Highlands operations into a new era – one with less impact on the planet,” Bansal said.
“I think we’re a fan of the safeguard mechanism, I think it is needed in this country, in my opinion. What it also does is provide certainty of policy. With certainty of policy, I think companies like Boral can’t invest in the future.
“Ultimately, I believe companies can do carbon reduction if there is certainty of policy; when you have uncertainty, that is where the issues are. This is a great example of a good policy and a good funding policy and business getting on and investing.”
While the transition of equipment has been a significant focus for many within the sector, the facilities themselves will undergo a level of transformation to support these net-zero ambitions.
In his press conference at the unveiling, Bowen pointed to Cement Australia’s facility at Railton in Tasmania as another example of how cement industry companies are changing their sites to support decarbonisation.
Bowen said he believed the upgraded facility would provide a bright future for Boral and the wider region.
“Cement is very important to our industrial future. It’s very important to our transformation. There’s more cement in a wind farm than there is steel and I want to see that cement being Australian made. And here at Berrima they’ve been making cement for 100 years almost,” he said.
“And this investment means that they can continue to make cement and they can be showing their consumers, their investors, their insurers, their staff that they have a serious plan – Boral has a serious plan to reduce emissions and that’s what the market will increasingly demand. So, that makes this facility secure into the future.
“This is about working together, business and industry. Our safeguard reforms were designed and have sent a clear signal to industry about expectations for carbon abatement and provided a secure, certain, sensible policy environment so that companies like Boral can make investments like this.
“So, I very much welcome this investment. I congratulate Vik [Bansal, CEO] and the Boral team for this investment. It’s a good day which will see emissions come down and in due course, jobs come up because this facility will be viable for the next hundred years as well.”