The green Fortescue Metals Group has agreed to purchase a battery with the expertise of Williams Formula One running team for £ 164m.
The Australian mining team has said it will use the battery and power technology that Fortescue Future Industries has acquired to help meet its demands for carbon-free by 2030.
Andrew Forrest, a billionaire founder and chairman of Fortescue, told the Financial Times that the deal represented “the first integration of rich companies with advanced technology” and that it had taken action after a mining company “disrupted global battery technology.”
He also said that electrical and battery technology will add a third component, along with green hydrogen and ammonia power, to a new and business capable of reducing carbon emissions in highly polluted industries including mining and transportation.
Fortescue plans to use the new system to upgrade 3km of steam locomotives, heavy industrial equipment and freight vehicles to reduce emissions from its mines, it said.
The first major project will be the concept of an “infinity train” for electricity, Fortescue said, which is expected to be a major development in the green industry.
Williams, one of the most recognizable names in the car race, was sold in 2020 to US pockets Dorilton Capital for € 152m which seemed like an acknowledgment that the team is no longer competing with high-profile players such as Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz.
The team was founded in 1977 by Sir Frank Williams and did well, winning 16 competitions for builders and builders in the 20s to 1997. before finishing eight of 10 teams in a recent season.
The Williams Advanced Engineering division, which employs 250 people, was established to assist in the development of advanced engine technology.
The group also turned to saving power for non-competitive companies. Williams worked with Unilever to eliminate the use of force in soap production. It also replaced the aircraft models used as the rear wings of its vehicles to reduce the required capacity of refrigerators in retail outlets.
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The group collaborated with miners, including Anglo American and Fortescue, on modern electronic technology. Forrest hopes the acquisition will help oil companies change green.
“When you try to get away from oil and gas and coal you get barriers everywhere,” he said.
He hopes to keep the Williams team at Wantage, Oxfordshire’s green space at the company, and to keep battery makers “firmly connected” to the race.
“Their challenges along the way are our challenges in the world,” he said. “It is exciting to win the Formula One race but we are all in a race. . . against climate change. ”
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