Rio Tinto launches farming trial in Australia to explore renewable diesel production (updated)

Midway

17/09/2024 21:22

(Adds details, background from paragraph 2 onwards)
       Sept 18 (Reuters) - Mining giant Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  said
on Wednesday it will develop seed farms in Australia to explore
the potential of Pongamia seed oil as a feedstock for renewable
diesel.
    The miner has partnered with local woodfiber processor
manager Midway  MWY.AX  to oversee the planting and management
of the farms.
    Pongamia is a tree native to Australia, the seeds of which
can be processed to form renewable diesel - an alternative which
emits significantly lesser carbon than the fossil fuel.
    Rio Tinto is in the final stages of procuring about 3,000
hectares of cleared land in Queensland for the pilot project,
which aims to determine if Pongamia seed oil can help meet the
company's renewable diesel demand, it said.
    "While we continue to pursue electrification as the
long-term solution for displacing the majority of our diesel
use, the Pongamia seed pilot is an important parallel pathway
that could reduce our reliance on diesel in the mid-term," said
Rio Tinto chief decarbonisation officer Jonathon McCarthy.
    The company is also exploring the usage of biofuels in areas
where electrification could face practical limitations, it said.

 (Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by
Krishna Chandra Eluri)
 ((Aaditya.GovindRao@thomsonreuters.com;))