Delta Electronics, a global leader in power management and smart green solutions, brought together industry leaders and technology experts at its annual Delta Connect technology summit in Sydney to discuss how decarbonisation can deliver broader benefits for Australia’s mining industry.
These benefits are already taking shape in mining operations. Fortescue, a leader in modern mining, is working with Delta to introduce a range of smart technologies across its sites, harnessing Australia’s climate to generate and store energy. The approach aims to reduce the company’s environmental footprint while creating greater operational and commercial value.
Showing the way forward through decarbonisation
Speaking at Delta Connect 2026, Fortescue’s Senior Manager of Decarbonisation Operations, Zac Carlton, discussed the company’s approach to the seismic shift in operations it is currently undertaking, and the thinking behind it.
With its plan to eliminate Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its Australian terrestrial iron ore operations by the end of 2030, Fortescue will see the majority of its green power generation for decarbonisation achieved by 2028. Its broader end-to-end energy ecosystem in the Pilbara begins with capturing solar and wind energy, saving it via Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and then using it to power a range of smart electrified vehicles, automated equipment and machinery.
As Carlton noted, the key metrics driving these changes in operations remain; safety, production and cost, however, underlying this at a deeper level is the company’s mission to “think about what we’re doing in the world.” By understanding the mining industry’s impacts and seeking to address them, the commercial benefits for Fortescue as a business and the wider sector are also expected to be considerable.
With a contribution of around $385 billion to Australian exports (as reported in the June 2025 Resources and Energy Quarterly published by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources) and an employer of more than 300,000 Australians, the mining industry remains a significant pillar of the national economy and a piece of the sustainable energy puzzle that is only growing in scale, importance and urgency.
The Business Case for Mining Decarbonisation
For all mining companies, fossil fuels remain a significant and at times unpredictable cost for operations that exposes businesses to substantial risk, often due to factors outside of their control.
In his Delta Connect 2026 discussion, Carlton touched on some of the variable parameters that were impacting Fortescue’s operations which led it towards decarbonisation. Given the thousands of kilometres diesel-powered vehicles must travel across the Pilbara to collect extracted material and deliver it to distribution channels, the constant fluctuation of fuel prices made it an expensive, and increasingly hard to predict, commodity to account for.
As Australia’s fuel market currently grapples with uncertainty brought on by conflict abroad, Fortescue has been pushing ahead to remove fossil fuels from its operations altogether, replacing it with renewable energy, predominantly solar, that is in abundance in the region.
Targeting completion in 2028, Fortescue’s Green Grid project will pair 1.5GW solar and 900MW wind with 5GWh battery storage to power Fortescue’s Pilbara operations and support the growing energy needs of the region, while also closing the loop on its own energy supply and exposure to external market factors.
The utilisation of Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS) serves as the technological lynchpin in Fortescue’s Real Zero mining strategy and closed-loop Pilbara microgrid. This provides consistent, reliable backup power drawn from the plentiful renewable energy sources like solar from the region.
As Fortescue notes, “solar and battery costs have fallen by around 90 per cent since 2010, making renewable energy the most practical way to power our operations”, the benefits extend beyond renewable energy itself. Powering battery networks with renewables also supports the AI-enabled digital ecosystem being implemented alongside automation and efficiency technologies, from driverless electric vehicles and machinery to energy management and analytics. Many of these technologies form part of Delta’s Pit-to-Port suite of interconnected technologies, designed to support smarter and more efficient mining operations.
This is not new territory for Delta. The company brings a proven global track record in delivering large-scale renewable energy and storage infrastructure for resource-intensive industries. Delta also has extensive experience working alongside mining regions overseas, including being a major partner to Europe’s largest solar park in Germany which utilises 3,500 of Delta’s PV inverters to help produce an operational capacity of 650 megawatts, supplying the annual energy needs of some 200,000 households and reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 250,000 tons each year.
Steve Davis, Delta Electronics Australia’s Sales Director, said: “What we heard from Fortescue reflects a broader shift we’re seeing across the sector. Mining operators are moving from asking whether to decarbonise, to asking how to do it profitably. Delta’s role is to make sure the energy infrastructure underneath that shift is ready to scale, wherever a mining business is starting from.”
Building Advantage Over Obligation
While Fortescue’s dedication to tackling sustainability in the sector is honourable, there is a commercial benefit to being the first to implement the measures it is implementing. As Carlton noted to Davis in their fireside chat at Delta Connect, there is an advantage to “holding the rulebook and how decarbonisation in mining can be done as a commercial opportunity.”
Increasingly, the most successful mining operations are those with the most predictable supply chains. By reliably controlling the supply, storage and usage of its energy needs, mine site operators can focus on innovation and using new technologies to streamline operations and even create new revenue streams.
When looking through the lens of commercial advantage, Fortescue’s solo mission allows the company to develop systems and processes that support its operation now, while also establishing a business case and playbook for other operators to acquire commercially. By this stage Fortescue will also be able to recoup some of its upfront costs through industry consultancy and potentially on-selling of any surplus energy stored at its sites.
As Australian mining operators weigh similar questions of cost, resilience and energy security, Delta’s role as a trusted partner continues to extend beyond any single project, bringing global expertise in power management and energy storage to one of the country’s most consequential industries.
Leading the Sustainability Journey from the Ground-Up
Delta Electronics Australia’s annual Delta Connect technology summit sees business leaders, technology experts and policymakers come together to exchange ideas and address the opportunities and challenges transforming Australia's economy.
Delta Connect will return in 2027 to provide another up-to-the-minute snapshot of current trends, while continuing to spark debate, foster relationships and expand commercial horizons for Australia’s tech industry.
To view a wrap-up of Delta Connect 2026, please visit:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/deltaseaoceania_deltaconnect2026-thenexthorizon-datacentres-activity-7491011841557622784-KErw?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAACerJsBpuSWKIQUXoppolIQuBbVM-_sziU
Note to editors: For all other enquiries please contact:
Yuqi Liu: +61 427 829 600 or yuqi.liu@deltaww.com
Kurt McGuiness: +61 413 135 334 or kurt@weareprimal.com.au