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Rio Tinto's push for renewable diesel

Posted on by Kennedy
Rio Tinto's push for renewable diesel

The mining industry faces the challenge of replacing diesel to meet Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets (emissions from sources that an organization owns or directly controls and emissions that are a consequence of an organization's activities but come from sources which they do not own or control). It). Diesel is typically a mine's main energy source. Mobile diesel fleets alone can be responsible for 25% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions from mines and 90% of Scope 1 emissions in opencast mines.

The industry's ultimate strategy to replace diesel is to electrify the fleet. However, battery technologies need to improve their energy density, cost, charging speed and scalability to make electric devices competitive. The majority of electrification will be phased in as these technologies evolve, with widespread adoption expected by 2040.

Meanwhile, mining companies are implementing transition strategies to significantly reduce diesel consumption and meet near-term Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions targets. Rio Tinto is one company at the forefront of this effort, using renewable diesel as a precursor to fleet electrification and as a potential standalone solution where electrification may not be feasible.

What is Renewable Diesel?

Renewable diesel is a bio-based liquid fuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats. According to the industry, it can be used as a “drop-in” fuel in most diesel engines, reducing CO₂ emissions by up to 90%, NOₓ (nitrogen oxides) by 27% and particulate matter by a whopping 84%.

Rio Tinto aims to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 15% by 2025 and 50% by 2030 (from the 2018 base year). To achieve these goals, the company uses renewable diesel.

Rio Tinto's transition to renewable diesel

In June 2023, Rio Tinto converted all heavy machinery at its Boron mine in Australia from fossil diesel to renewable diesel, making it the first open pit mine in the world to achieve this feat. Rio Tinto is now using Neste MY Renewable at the site – a hydrotreated vegetable oil made from renewable resources that can reportedly reduce emissions by 75% compared to fossil diesel. The switch followed a seven-month test with Neste and Rolls-Royce starting in 2022, which showed that trucks running on renewable diesel work just as efficiently and reliably as those using fossil diesel. The change is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 45,000 tons annually.

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Building on success at the Boron mine, Rio Tinto is transitioning all fossil diesel consumption to renewable diesel at its Kennecott mine in 2024. The transition began in the first quarter of 2024 and includes Kennecott's fleet of 90 transporters, heavy equipment, concentrators, smelters and refineries. The change is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 495,000 tons annually.

Jonathon McCarthy, Rio Tinto's chief decarbonization officer, says the introduction of renewable diesel at its Boron and Kennecott operations would “displace 11% of Rio Tinto's global fossil diesel consumption.”

Rio Tinto's biofuel pilot

In September 2024, Rio Tinto announced a biofuel pilot with Pongamia seed farms in Australia. Pongamia is a legume tree native to the country that produces oil-rich seeds that can be harvested annually and processed into renewable diesel. Rio Tinto wants to find out whether Pongamia seed oil can meet its renewable diesel needs and help develop a new biofuel sector in Australia.

As part of the pilot, Rio Tinto is currently acquiring almost 3,000 hectares of land in northern Queensland to study Pongamia growing conditions and seed oil yields. Rio Tinto has partnered with Midway, a local wood fiber processor, to oversee the planting and management of Pongamia seed farms.

The pilot follows a smaller trial at Rio Tinto's Gove operation, which planted Pongamia seedlings to assess their response to challenging environmental conditions in northern Australia.

I'm based on Rio Tinto's book

Rio Tinto's adoption of renewable diesel is a model for how mining companies can proactively implement interim strategies to reduce diesel emissions before fully electrifying their fleet. Mining companies must act now to reduce diesel consumption and meet near-term Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions targets – renewable diesel is a viable path. Additionally, it is expected that more companies from sectors such as aviation and logistics will seek to develop biofuels as a transition strategy to reduce emissions in the face of limited global supply.


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