Energy transition is driving significant demand for reliable and cost-effective renewable energy, as well as for minerals and alternative battery materials.

According to Russell Ayres, Fluor’s Mining & Metals vice president and general manager for Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa, Fluor earlier this year announced new business segments and an updated strategy to address these global demands.

“The new structure comprises three business segments - Urban Solutions, Mission Solutions and Energy Solutions,” said Ayres. “Urban Solutions includes the Mining & Metals business and Energy Solutions comprises the former Energy & Chemicals business, and both will continue to operate in South Africa.

“These business segments use our knowledge-based expertise and technical solutions across all the industries to provide our clients with sustainable solutions that are more energy efficient, derived from sustainable sources and have a low or zero carbon fingerprint, while remaining committed to Fluor and our clients’ environmental, social and governance strategies,” added Ayres.

According to Ayres, the company has further identified four mega trends - Industry 4.0, Energy Transition & Urbanisation, Beyond Globalisation and Stakeholder Engagement. These have a very significant impact on driving towards a more sustainable future.

He adds that the Mining & Metals group is well positioned to assist the mining sector who will face pressure from investors, governments and society to reduce emissions.

“Our clients are planning to meet energy transition demands in a sustainable way by electrifying their mines, powering them by using renewable energy sources, cutting carbon monoxide emissions, using less water and waste, and overall just producing more efficiently,” said Ayres.

“To assist our clients, we will be implementing new processing technologies in big data analytics, which will be important as energy transition & urbanisation turbocharges the need for the metals that we focus on, especially copper.

“We are ready to provide our mining clients with professional and technical solutions as copper and battery metals, such as lithium and nickel, will be in huge demand to support this transition,” Ayres said. “Without these metals, a cleaner future will not be possible.”

With the continued and expanding growth in Fluor’s Mining & Metals business line, Urban Solutions will lead the office in Johannesburg. Fluor’s Energy Solutions operations will be consolidated in the Durban office and will become the Energy Solutions Execution Centre for Southern Africa.

Fluor South Africa will remain the operating entity for Fluor in the region and will continue to support the newly formed business groups operating locally.