The future of low emissions transport is clear.

The future of a world full of low emissions transport is being built right now.

Every day, the world is moving closer to cleaner, more sustainable electric-powered transport.

In Europe, France and Germany have both stepped up their support for Electric Vehicle (EV) take–up, while the UK brought forward its Internal Combustion Engine ban by 5 years to 2030. 

And China has reiterated its ambitious 20 per cent sales target for 2025, on the back of its prior commitment to build 5 million public charging units by the end of calendar year 2020.

It is estimated that the first million EVs on the road will reduce global oil demand by 1.3 million barrels per day.

All of this and more points towards the electrification of transport as one of the mega trends of the future that is beginning to happen now.

Which means now, more than ever, the world needs cost effective, efficient batteries that are powerful, energy dense, thermally stable, capable of being recharged thousands of times, and can reach a high charge in a matter of minutes. It also needs raw materials that are in reliable supply.

That’s why resources, like the nickel produced at BHP’s Nickel West operations in Western Australia, are so important. So much so that Tesla Inc. has signed a nickel supply agreement with BHP, where we have active commitments to Social Value and sustainability and are one of the lowest production GHG emissions intensities of benchmarked nickel mines.¹

Tesla is the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles and battery storage systems with a mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, and nickel is a key metal used to manufacture Tesla Inc.’s battery technology.

Demand for nickel in batteries is estimated to grow by over 500 per cent over the next decade, in large part to support the world’s rising demand for electric vehicles.

But for BHP, it doesn’t just stop with supplying nickel for electric transportation. BHP believes the mining industry needs to be at the forefront of tackling the climate challenge. So, in partnership with two of the world’s other biggest resources companies, BHP has launched the Charge On Innovation Challenge, a global competition for technology innovators to develop new concepts for large-scale haul truck electrification systems to help significantly cut emissions from surface mine operations and unlock safety, productivity, and operational improvements.

BHP has also partnered with the Chinese automotive think tank, Automotive Data of China Co., Ltd. (ADC), to support its research on the future electrification of transport in China. The partnership will focus on key drivers for development of energy saving and new energy vehicles in China, such as the manufacturing value-chain, efficiency, consumer attitudes and products development, battery chemistry, technical performance, the policy environment, and the long-range outlook for electrification.

At BHP’s Nickel West operations, a partnership with Toyota will study how to reduce the emissions intensity of our light vehicle fleet. It builds on other Light Electric Vehicle trials underway in South Australia and Queensland. Reducing our reliance on diesel at our operations will help achieve our medium-term target of reducing operational GHG emissions by at least 30 per cent from FY2020 levels by FY2030 and our long-term goal of net zero operational GHG emissions by 2050.

It’s resources, like the copper and nickel produced by BHP, that is helping to make the future of electric transport happen now.

The future is clear, if we continue to think big.

¹ Based on a CY2021 Nickel emissions intensity curve using data estimates from Skarn Associates. See our Annual Report 2022 Section 7.8 ‘Emissions intensity of production’ for more information.