A message from Jens Goennemann
Sustainable decarbonisation works best when it improves the bottom line. I saw a powerful example of that during my visit to the Pilbara.
Fortescue recently showcased two new electric locomotives, each powered by a 14.5-megawatt-hour battery. Together they will eliminate around one million litres of diesel from the company’s operations each year.
They join a growing fleet of electrified equipment across Fortescue’s iron ore operations including 12 excavators and a drill as the company works towards net zero scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 2030. Importantly, this transition is designed to lower operating costs along the way, making the business more competitive rather than less.
In my view, the only sustainable way to reduce carbon emissions is through a globally competitive economy rather than driving that economy into the ground in the process.
Fortescue’s electrification strategy reflects that philosophy. The two battery-electric trains join a fleet of 70 diesel locomotives, with plans to gradually introduce more electric units as additional green electricity becomes available.
The company has already built 480 kilometres of high-voltage transmission infrastructure as part of its grid and is installing more than 3,000 solar panels. Every single day!
During the visit I saw the 100-megawatt solar farm operating at North Star Junction firsthand. Beyond that, construction, approvals or planning are underway for more than a gigawatt of additional solar and wind capacity across Fortescue’s sites, supported by battery storage.
Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest recently told an Australian Financial Review event that green energy ultimately rests on “one powerful argument”: the economics.
Or, as one Fortescue team member put it while showing me the electric locomotives, instead of “throwing diesel at everything, we are making our own green electrons and throwing those.”
Economics are just as vital for transformation closer to home.
At the recent METS & More Diversification Forum 2026 in the Greater Whitsunday Region, I had the opportunity to give a keynote on the potential for manufacturing to add value by building on the regional strengths already present in Australia’s primary industries. Regional businesses can only move up the value chain if they remain globally competitive.
The same principle applies elsewhere. A fortnight ago, I visited Darwin’s East Arm, where Northern Glass Solutions opened a new facility producing specialised glass products. Supported by a $668,072 co-investment from our Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Fund, the company is addressing a clear gap in the Northern Territory for local glass manufacturing.
The facility will supply construction glass as well as specialised products such as bullet-resistant glass, something it aims to become the first manufacturer of in Australia bringing with it regional export opportunities.
Like Fortescue, albeit at a very different scale, Northern Glass Solutions is guided by the same principle: identifying where it can compete. Its customers benefit from lower transport and energy costs thanks to locally produced, highly insulated windows.
When Australia plays its cards right by leveraging its space, climate conditions, and ingenuity, then decarbonisation becomes not a burden on competitiveness, but a source of it.