ABB and Japanese industrial company Sumitomo Corporation formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a signing event at Bauma 2025. The two companies are committed to decarbonize the mining industry together, with a focus on fleet electrification. The agreement was signed with the construction and mining systems strategic business unit (SBU) of Sumitomo.
The collaboration comes as mining customers seek to decarbonize their operations. Through electrification, miners pursue economically viable practices, suitable for heavy industry vehicle and machinery fleets. The two companies will devise strategies to meet the demanding requirements of industrial applications, such as high power, automated and safe operation, and harsh environmental conditions.
With their combined understanding of the sector, teams from ABB and Sumitomo will bring their vision for complementary mining decarbonizing systems to concept. The aim is to enable energy delivery to mobile electric assets, as well as the required infrastructure of dynamic and static energy transfer.
“We are looking forward to a high level of interaction and engagement on the topics of electrification and decarbonization, with the ambition to realize impactful solutions,” says Kenichi Hyuga, general manager of construction and mining systems SBU at Sumitomo.
“Together with Sumitomo, we’re prepared to make further in-roads to the challenge of decarbonizing heavy machinery in the mining industry,” says Joachim Braun, division president at ABB Process Industries. “As a technology leader we do not take this responsibility lightly and mean to investigate all routes to drive effective change for leaner and cleaner operations. No organization can do this alone, and we share strong values and ideas with our new partner.”
The next steps will include a complete feasibility assessment and review. ABB and Sumitomo will also collaborate closely to develop business models and methods of working to suit mining customers, including further links with potential partners and go-to-market strategies.
