Renewable diesel has helped fuel Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore operations for the first time, with the completion of a successful trial of biofuel across its network of Western Australian ports, railways and mines.
The trial, the first of its kind for Rio Tinto in Australia, was conducted in partnership with leading global renewable diesel producer Neste and Australian fuel supplier Viva Energy.
Neste allocated 10 million litres of renewable diesel from used cooking oil for the trial.
The fuel was shipped from Singapore to Rio Tinto’s Parker Point fuel terminal in Dampier by Viva Energy and blended portside with fossil diesel to create a mix with about 20 per cent renewable diesel.
It was then distributed across Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore operations for use in rail, marine, blasting, haul trucks, surface mining equipment and light vehicles.
“While electrification is the ultimate longer-term solution for repowering the majority of our fleet, we’re also exploring biofuels as a complementary and nearer-term solution,” Rio Tinto managing director rail, port and core services Richard Cohen said.
“Through this trial with Neste and Viva Energy, we’ve gained valuable insights into how renewable diesel can help bridge the gap to widespread electrification as well as for circumstances where electrification may not be suitable.”
Rio Tinto is actively exploring the potential of biofuels as part of its ongoing efforts to achieve its Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction targets of 50 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
This trial builds on the successful transition at the company’s Boron and Kennecott operations in the US, where 11 per cent of its total global fossil diesel consumption has been replaced with renewable diesel.
Rio Tinto is also developing a Pongamia seed farm in North Queensland as part of a biofuels pilot to contribute to the growth of the Australian biofuels industry.
