Rio Tinto to run iron ore ship on biofuel

RIO TINTO will start using recycled cooking oil to help power a key iron ore tanker as part of a trial to cut carbon emissions from shipping its products.

The FTSE 100 miner’s RTM Tasman tanker will be powered with biofuel supplied by BP in a 12-month trial, which Rio Tinto says is one of the longest of its kind.

The RTM Tasman will collect iron ore from Canada for shipping around the world. The ship will use BP’S B30 biofuel, which contains a blend of renewable or recycled oils such as waste cooking oil and vegetable oil, as well as about 70pc low sulphur diesel.

Rio Tinto says it can cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 26pc compared to standard marine oil, which is distilled from crude oil.

Cutting emissions from heavy goods shipping is a major challenge given the time ships spend at sea and energy required to power them. Global shipping accounts for about 3pc of global carbon emissions.

Biofuels emit carbon dioxide when burned but are considered lower carbon overall as the organic material used to produce them absorbs carbon while growing and can be quickly regrown.

However, critics raise concerns about the extent to which feedstock is regrown in practice, as well as land use and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides.

Laure Baratgin, head of commercial operations at Rio Tinto, said: “Sustainable biofuels have the potential to be an important transition fuel on the way to net-zero marine emissions.

“A longer duration trial will provide important information on the potential role and wide scale use of biofuels.”