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    • Rio Tinto’s push for renewable diesel
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    Rio Tinto’s push for renewable diesel

    Vaseline Posted on

    The mining industry faces the challenge of replacing diesel to meet Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets (emissions from sources that an organization directly owns or controls, and emissions that are a result of an organization’s activities, but originate from sources not owned or controlled by Het). Diesel is usually a mine’s main energy source. Mobile diesel fleets alone could be responsible for 25% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions from mines, and 90% of Scope 1 emissions in surface mines.

    The industry’s ultimate strategy to replace diesel is through fleet electrification. However, battery technologies must improve their energy density, cost, charging speed and scalability to make electrical equipment competitive. Most electrification will be phased in gradually as these technologies develop, and is expected to be widely adopted by 2040.

    In the meantime, mining companies are implementing interim strategies to achieve significant reductions in diesel consumption and meet short-term Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets. Rio Tinto is one of the companies leading the way in these efforts, deploying sustainable 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 extracted from vegetable oils and animal fats. It can be used as a ‘drop-in’ fuel in most diesel engines, reducing CO₂ emissions by as much as 90%, NOₓ (nitrogen oxide) by 27% and particulate matter by as much as 84%, the industry says.

    Rio Tinto aims to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 15% by 2025 and 50% by 2030 (compared to the 2018 baseline). The company uses renewable diesel to help achieve these goals.

    Rio Tinto’s transition to renewable diesel

    In June 2023, Rio Tinto switched all heavy machinery at its drilling 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 raw materials that can reportedly reduce emissions by 75% compared to fossil diesel. The transition followed a seven-month trial with Neste and Rolls-Royce starting in 2022, which showed that trucks running on renewable diesel perform as efficiently and reliably as trucks running on fossil diesel. The switch is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 45,000 tonnes per year.

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    Building on the success at the Boron mine, Rio Tinto will convert all fossil diesel consumption to renewable diesel at its Kennecott mine by 2024. The transition began in the first quarter of 2024 and includes Kennecott’s fleet of 90 trucks, heavy machinery, concentrator, smelter and refinery. . The switch is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 495,000 tonnes per year.

    Rio Tinto Chief Decarbonisation Officer Jonathon McCarthy said the introduction of renewable diesel at the Boron and Kennecott sites would “replace 11% of Rio Tinto’s global fossil diesel consumption”.

    Rio Tinto’s biofuel pilot

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

    As part of the pilot, Rio Tinto is 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 manager, to oversee the planting and management of the pongamia seed farms.

    The pilot follows a smaller trial at Rio Tinto’s Gove operations, where Pongamia saplings were planted to assess their response to challenging environmental conditions in northern Australia.

    Taking a leaf out of 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, prior to electrifying their entire fleet. Mining companies must take action now to reduce diesel use and meet Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets in the near term – renewable diesel offers one viable route. Additionally, expect more companies from sectors such as aviation and logistics to seek to develop biofuels as an interim strategy to reduce emissions amid limited global supply.


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