Fortescue Metals Group has agreed to acquire Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) โ an offshoot of the legendary Williams Formula 1 team โ in a sizable nine-figure deal. But the implications arenโt nearly as exciting as youโd assume. At least not in the sense that would get your everyday motorsports fans riled up.
This isnโt how an Australian company backdoors its way onto the grid. Nor is it Andrew โTwiggyโ Forrestโs avenue to becoming a team owner a la homegrown airline magnate Paul Stoddard and Minardi Formula 1 circa 2001. The reason why Fortescue is so keen to pay EMK Capital US$223 million / AU$310 million for WAE comes down to battery technology and a general shift towards electrification.
Fortescue Metals Group is currently the worldโs fourth-biggest producer of iron ore. Twiggy Forrest, however, is determined to transition the Perth-based miner into becoming one of the worldโs most prominent clean energy producers within the coming decade, targeting net-zero emissions by 2030.
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Williams Advanced Engineering, which will soon be welcomed into the Fortescue Future Industries clean energy unit, has been working closely with Fortescue since early 2021 on designing + constructing a prototype battery system positioned to eliminate the need for diesel; described as โโฆ an important first step in the decarbonisation of Fortescueโs mining haul fleet.โ Weโre talking trucks, trains, and other heavy equipment.
โThis is the race of our lifetimes โ the race to save the planet from cooking,โ says Twiggy Forrest.
โThe speed at which we move matters. Together Fortescue Future Industries and Williams Advanced Engineering will work to decarbonise Fortescue โ with the aim of achieving that faster and more effectively than anyone else in the world.โ
Forrest later noted how Williams Formula 1 was โat the forefront of innovation in engineeringโ before paying tribute to the late Frank Williams, who passed away last November.
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โHigh-performance battery and electrification systems are at the core of what we do at WAE,โ explains Craig Wilson, CEO of Williams Advanced Engineering.
โThis acquisition and investment will facilitate the companyโs further growth to support the delivery of zero-emissions products and services across existing sectors โ such as automotive, motorsport, and off-highway โ and new sectors too.โ
โWe are delighted to play a key role in Fortescueโs decarbonisation strategy, contributing to the delivery of their emissions reduction targets through high-performance battery systems, green hydrogen, and related technologies.โ
The acquisition is expected to be finalised by March 2022.
