The partnership follows 12 months of BHP and Caterpillar collaborating on analysis of energy demands and options to apply this technology on BHP sites.

Through the partnership BHP will get early access to Caterpillar-developed zero emissions equipment and hands-on learning opportunities to ensure its successful deployment.

It is hoped the collaboration will help shape the processes, technology and infrastructure that will be required to support zero-emissions machines and the mine sites for the future.

Another critical element of the collaboration will be to extend the parties' efforts to support a more inclusive mining industry.

Over the coming year BHP plans to provide frontline operator and maintainer input into the Caterpillar design process to support the development of machines that can be operated and serviced by a broader range of the workforce.

"The opportunity for our teams to input into the design process also gives us confidence that the trucks will be safer and easier to operate for a workforce that's more diverse than ever," she said.

Caterpillar group president Denise Johnson said deeply integrating the Caterpillar and BHP teams would allow for faster deployment to deliver zero-emissions solutions.