Rio Tinto’s push for renewable diesel

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The mining industry faces the challenge of displacing diesel to meet Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets (emissions from sources that an organization directly owns or controls, and emissions that are a consequence of an organization’s activities but that originate from sources that are not owned or controlled by it). Diesel is typically the most important source of energy in a mine. Mobile diesel fleets alone can account for 25% of mines’ Scope 1 and 2 emissions and 90% of Scope 1 emissions in surface mines.

The industry’s ultimate strategy to displace 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, with widespread adoption expected by 2040.

Meanwhile, 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 a company at the forefront of this effort, using renewable diesel as a precursor to fleet electrification and as a potential stand-alone solution where electrification may not be possible.

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 a staggering 84%, according to the industry.

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

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 globally to achieve this feat. Rio Tinto now uses Neste MY Renewable on site – a hydrogenated vegetable oil made from renewable feedstocks 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 performed as efficiently and reliably as those using fossil diesel. The switch is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 45,000 tonnes annually.

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Building on the success of the Boron mine, Rio Tinto is switching all fossil diesel consumption to renewable diesel at its Kennecott mine in 2024. The transition began in Q1 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 annually.

Rio Tinto chief decarbonisation officer Jonathon McCarthy states that the introduction of renewable diesel in the Boron and Kennecott operations would “replace 11% of Rio Tinto’s global fossil diesel consumption”.

Rio Tinto’s biofuel pilot

In September 2024, Rio Tinto announced a biofuel pilot involving 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 aims to determine whether pongamia seed oil can meet its renewable diesel needs and contribute to the development of a new biofuels sector in Australia.

As part of the pilot project, Rio Tinto is acquiring almost 3,000 hectares of land in north Queensland to study pongamia growing conditions and seed oil yield. Rio Tinto has partnered with Midway, a local wood fiber processing leader, to oversee the planting and management of pongamia seed farms.

The pilot follows a smaller trial at Rio Tinto’s Gove operations where Pongamia trees 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 deployment of renewable diesel is a model of how mining companies can proactively implement interim strategies to reduce diesel emissions ahead of full fleet electrification. Mining companies must act now to reduce diesel consumption and meet short-term Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets – renewable diesel is a viable route. Additionally, expect to see more companies from sectors such as aviation and logistics seek to develop biofuels as an interim strategy to reduce emissions amid limited global supply.