Fortescue buys US battery tech to boost storage needs as it sets sail on eliminating fossil fuels in five years

Andrew Forrest’s iron ore mining giant Fortescue has bought a US-based battery controls company to support the rollout of more than five gigawatt hours of storage needed to support its plans to eliminate fossil fuels from its mining operations by 2030.

The company announced this week that Elysia, its battery intelligence platform, has bought the on-site controls company Zitara, which will enable it to offer a “unique” cloud-based on premisses battery management suite.

Fortescue says this will allow it to boost revenues, asset life and safety for the planned massive rollout of four to five gigawatt hours of battery storage in the Pilbara.

Forrest has set an ambitious target of “real zero” emissions for the Pilbara mining operations by 2030, which means burning no gas or diesel for use in its electricity supply, or in the operation of mining equipments, including massive 260-tonne haul trucks, bulldozers and excavators.

The plan will require several gigawatts of wind and solar capacity, supported by the battery storage to store excess output for when it is needed, and to balance the grid in the absence of thermal and synchronous generation.

Fortescue last december delivered the first BYD battery units at its first big battery installation, a 50 MW, 250 MWh project at North Star Junction (see photo above).

It said the batteries will store solar generated during the day at neighbouring solar farms to be stored for use in its network at night. It is also using giant batteries for its huge haul trucks at the mines.

Zitara was set up in San Franciso by engineers who had worked at companies such as Tesla, Gogoro, Cruise, and Waymo.

in December, 2024, it raised $US17 million in Series AA funding in a round led by Salesforce Ventures, with participation from Emerson Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, and Climate Capital.

CEO Shyam Srinivasan said at the time that Zitara’s software leverages ‘advanced algorithms and machine learning to optimize battery performance, extend battery life, and enhance safety across diverse applications – especially grid-scale energy storage.

“As the world increasingly shifts towards electrification and renewable energy, efficient and reliable battery management becomes crucial for various industries,” he said.

Elysia was borne out of motor racing and was originally part of the Williams Grand Prix Engineering Team bought by Fortescue Zero in 2022. It was mostly focused on transport – electric cars and trucks – and it appears this purchase will deepen its capabilities in grid scale storage too.

In its statement The investment enhances the capabilities of Fortescue’s battery intelligence software, Elysia, by combining its existing industry leading cloud-based products, with on-site systems for Battery Electric Storage.

“The acquisition of Zitara will expand the capabilities of our battery intelligence division, bringing together world-class cloud analytics with real time on-premises controls, complimenting the existing work of Elysia and strengthening our position in the Battery Energy Storage market,” Elysia managing director Tim Engstrom said.

“Integrating real time on-site control systems with Elysia’s proven analytics gives us a unique, globally scalable platform. This positions Fortescue at the cutting edge of battery intelligence and supports our mission to accelerate decarbonisation across industry profitably,” Engstrom said.

Fortescue says it will be among the first globally to take advantage of the full suite of battery intelligence offerings through the live deployment on its large-scale BESS installations in the Pilbara, Australia.

“Elysia is at the forefront of the battery intelligence sector, developing products to unlock untapped battery potential and overcome real-world challenges that will ultimately help accelerate industrial decarbonisation globally,” it said.

“The solutions created by Zitara augment this, through the delivery of an integrated battery intelligence product offering that maximises the performance and return on investment of BESS assets whilst creating new opportunities to unlock and fast-track R&D in green energy technologies.”

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