Fortescue decarbonisation boss Christiaan Heyning the latest high-profile departure

Fortescue’s head of decarbonisation Christiaan Heyning is the latest high-profile departure from Andrew Forrest’s ‘green team’, as it ramps up spending on solar farms and battery-powered trucks.

Fortescue, led by Andrew Forrest, declined to say which executive within its ranks now had responsibility for decarbonisation. Picture: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Andrew Forrest-led Fortescue and the executive who had responsibility for decarbonising the iron ore heavyweight’s mining operations have parted ways as it ramps up spending on solar farms and battery-powered trucks and other machinery.

Fortescue head of decarbonisation Christiaan Heyning is the latest high-profile departure from the company’s “green team” and follows energy chief executive Mark Hutchinson and others out the door.

Fortescue is aiming to cut its direct and indirect carbon emissions for iron ore mining to “real zero” by the end of 2030 without the help of carbon offsets.

Mr Heyning had responsibility for planning and rolling out the changes needed to achieve that goal as part of a $US6.2bn spend on decarbonisation unveiled in September 2022. He joined Fortescue from McKinsey in the months before that announcement.

Fortescue declined to say which executive within its ranks now had responsibility for decarbonisation, but indicated its efforts to achieve zero emissions had moved from planning to the execution phase.

Fortescue currently emits about 2.4 million tonnes of carbon annually and is banking on huge investments in wind and solar farms in the Pilbara, battery-powered haul trucks produced in partnership with German company Liebherr and other technology to hit the 2030 goal.

Chief executive Dino Otranto said the company was acting swiftly on its emissions reduction, in response to questions about Mr Heyning’s departure and its progress.

Outgoing executive Christiaan Heyning.

Dino Otranto.

“At Fortescue, we aren’t waiting for the rest of heavy industry to decarbonise - we are getting on with the job of delivering it ourselves,” he said.

“We’ve backed ourselves to take on this challenge and we’re seeing continued progress across our Pilbara operations.

“From electric drills and excavators already operating on site, to major renewable energy projects coming online, this is what Real Zero looks like in practice.

“We’ve now reached an important turning point where decarbonisation is no longer a standalone initiative but is being embedded into the way we run our business. That integration reflects the maturity of our approach and the strength of our operational delivery.”

Fortescue is thought to have identified what it thinks are solutions to eliminate about 90 per cent of emissions from its iron ore operations.

Some of the progress so far includes the construction of more than 640 kilometres of transmission lines through Pilbara Energy Connect that link mine sites and renewable energy assets.

Fortescue has also started installing multiple battery energy storage systems and started building a 190 megawatt solar farm at its Cloudbreak mine. A 100MW solar farm at North Star Junction is fully commissioned.

The company, founded by its executive chairman Dr Forrest, has not disclosed the cost of building all the solar farms it will need to reach its decarbonisation target, which includes both scope 1 and 2 emissions.

The first battery electric haul truck, developed with Liebherr, is on track for deployment at one of its Pilbara mines sometime in 2026, and it is trialling electric light vehicles and support equipment.

When questioned by analysts about its annual decarbonisation capital expenditure guidance - $US300m-$US500m - after the release of half-year results in February, Fortescue turned to Mr Heyning to respond.

“The run rate in the first half year is going to be exceeded in the second half of the year,” he said.

“Decarb is ramping up over the next couple of quarters ... the overall decarb spend for the full year is still within the guidance.”

Mr Heyning said he was “really excited about all the wonderful stuff that we’ve been able to achieve”.

“In terms of the financials, of course we will update the market as soon as we have a reason to do so, which, up to date, we haven’t really had,” he said.

Fortescue in May laid off about 90 staff working on its hydrogen projects, spread across its Queensland electrolyser facility and a hydrogen unit in WA.

Fortescue then announced Mr Hutchinson was leaving along with its chief operating officer, Shelley Robertson.

Mr Otranto took on an expanded role that includes Fortescue’s under-pressure hydrogen unit and global electrification interests.

Former ­Argentina rugby international Gus Pichot, who is close to Dr Forrest, was promoted to chief executive of growth and energy.

The changes came on top of other executive exits since Dr Forrest announced in 2020 that the company would become a green energy giant on top of its profitable iron ore business.

Originally published as Fortescue decarbonisation boss Christiaan Heyning the latest high-profile departure