Rio Tinto and bp have agreed to work together on a one-year biofuel trial to help reduce carbon emissions from its marine fleet. Under the trial, bp is supplying Rio Tinto with marine biofuel for approximately 12 months. 

The trial is using a bp-manufactured B30 biofuel blend composed of 30% fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) blended with very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO). This B30 biofuel blend can reduce lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by up to 26% compared to standard marine fuel oil.

The fuel will be trialed on Rio Tinto’s RTM Tasman vessel on a mix of Transatlantic and Atlantic-Pacific routes, in one of the longest-duration marine biofuel trials to date. The results of the trial will help Rio Tinto study ways to reduce its carbon emissions from its marine fleet and inform its future biofuel strategy.

Rio Tinto’s Head of Commercial Operations, Laure Baratgin, said: “Sustainable biofuels have the potential to be an important transition fuel on the way to net-zero marine emissions, and we are pleased to be working with bp to carry out this long-term trial. A longer-duration trial will provide important information on the potential role and wide-scale use of biofuels and aligns with our goals to reduce marine emissions across our value chain and support efforts to decarbonize the maritime industry.”

Sven Boss-Walker, bp senior vice president refining and products trading, said: “Sustainable biofuels are important to help decarbonize the shipping industry in the near- and mid-term as we transition towards longer-term net-zero solutions.”

The extended trial agreement follows a successful journey on the RTM Tasman after it refueled with biofuel in Rotterdam in March 2022 for the first time and then picked up its first load of the trial at the Iron Ore Company of Canada’s Sept-Îles port in Quebec in April. All biofuel refueling during the trial will be at Rotterdam.