Net zero is achievable by 2050, says Aggreko

Miners asking for big, bold ideas to supply renewable energy are paving the way for other industries across the world. 

Aggreko is a mobile and modular power provider. Founded in 1962, the company is headquartered in Glasgow, UK, with a revenue of £1.3bn.

The Global Head of Mining at Aggreko, Rod Saffy, knows miners are constantly looking for innovative power solutions to help companies achieve their emission targets. 

“Where there once may have been a reluctance to embrace new technology, miners are now needing it – asking us for bold ideas”, said Saffy. “As a result, most of our new technology is finding its way into the mining space before it is finding its way into other sectors. In our company alone, our hybrid solutions have created so much interest, our teams across the globe are applying these complex solutions, first deployed within the mining community, to other sectors such as oil and gas, data centres, and major events. The mining industry has become very innovative and that’s exciting for us.” 

Mining sector transformation

Lars Stephan, who heads strategy and markets at Aggreko’s renewable division echoed Saffy’s comments, suggesting the next few years alone would result in a massive transformation of the mining sector as miners incorporated renewables to their energy mix. 

“Our hybrid projects, such as the Granny Smith project, are quite ahead of the curve and  undoubtedly will be transported to the rest of the mining industry and to the rest of the world as well”, said Stephan. “New technology our teams are currently looking at across different sectors include green hydrogen, modular wind solution and re-deployable solar solutions. We are certainly scanning to see what will become relevant to our customers.” 

As the world’s leading mobile and modular provider for power generation, Aggreko has had multiple teams dedicated specifically to bringing new and innovative technology to customers, with the terms innovation and technology being at the heart of the company’s values and strategic direction. 

In mining specifically, Nicolas Boruchowicz, Head of Renewables and Energy Storage solutions, said Aggreko was now trialing state-of-the-art mobile and containerized PV solutions, after securing four major solar contracts to power mines throughout their lifecycle. 

“While bringing the benefits of solar integration, those units will be highly mobile, and provide flexible solar power to mines and rural communities for a shorter contract duration of below five years or even months”, said Boruchowicz. “This innovation has the potential to open the door to more renewable power for the mining industry and in locations that previously seemed out of scope.” 

Aggreko is one of the only power companies of its kind to align itself with the big miners, committed  to reduce its carbon emissions and its use of diesel with customers by 50% by 2030 and achieving net-zero across its fleet by 2050. 

The evolving energy landscape will help the world reach net-zero by 2050

When asked if he had one piece of advice for the mining sector today, Saffy said: “Whatever you do, don’t make a long-term investment in an energy source. In today’s fast evolving energy landscape, long term commitments may lead to stranded assets and tied up capital, especially with the constant innovation in energy technology. 

“We offer a risk free, 100% reliable solution, addressing your immediate requirements and  staying flexible with the energy source as it evolves into the future. 

“We don’t know right now what technologies will help get us to net-zero by 2050 but we will continue to search the market for innovation and work with our mining customers to get there.”