Andrew Forrest, motorsports mogul, revs up his British business
Oxford | Fortescue boss Andrew Forrest’s evangelical green mission has taken him in some unlikely directions. But possibly none has been more unexpected than his emergence as a mogul of global motorsports.
Dr Forrest bought Oxford-based Formula 1 outfit Williams Advanced Engineering last year because he needed their engineering expertise to develop carbon-free trucks for his iron ore operations in the Pilbara.
Andrew Forrest tests a hydrogen-powered car prototype at his new WAE facility in Oxford. Domenico Pugliese
But on Thursday, as he opened the first of two new WAE factories he has commissioned, he found himself sitting in a racing car. It was the prototype for a vehicle that in early 2025 could compete in the first race of “Extreme H” – a new global off-road championship for hydrogen-based vehicles.
Did he ever imagine becoming a motor racing magnate? “Absolutely not,” he tellsThe Australian Financial Review.
“But I’m so glad that we’re here, because the racing car industry is driving the technology to help turn heavy industry green.”
Sport, like war, is a hyper-competitive activity, driving innovation. And it’s pacey innovation that Dr Forrest now needs, if he is going to find a hydrogen-electric solution to turn his diesel fleet green, on the seven-year timeframe he has set.
“There’s great competition across industries, particularly in the mining industry, and it really drives technical development. But if the technical development isn’t shifting out of its rail lines of fossil fuel, of just being satisfied with being the most efficient bulk miners, then you’ve got to drive competition in other fields,” he said.
“We didn’t need to crack cutting-edge technology by going to war with someone. … It’s great to
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