ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Ú

Haul truck at Kennecott, Bingham Canyon Mine

Fuelling our trucks with renewable diesel

Diesel made from renewable raw materials is helping us reduce emissions


Last updated: 21 August 2023

 

Diesel is a common fuel in the mining industry, because diesel engines are powerful enough to move trucks that can be the size of a two-storey house on wheels, more than 7 metres tall, and carry hundreds of tonnes in every load.

But conventional diesel engines are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, with diesel for our mobile fleet and rail representing approximately 13% of greenhouse gas emissions across our operations. Despite making advances globally in electrifying our mining fleets, we still rely on emissions-heavy fuel for transport, haulage and logistics.

In June 2023 our Boron operation in California in the US, we fully transitioned our heavy machinery from fossil diesel to renewable diesel – making it the first open pit mine in the world to achieve this milestone. The change to renewable diesel brings an anticipated CO2 equivalent reduction of up to 45,000 tonnes per year, comparable to eliminating the annual emissions of approximately 9,600 cars1. And it’s not just helping us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our diesel-powered haul truck fleet – it's also made from renewable materials.

"Renewable diesel is one of several sustainability solutions that ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úis using to transform its businesses," says Sinead Kaufman, Chief Executive, Minerals.

"The transition at Boron is an important first step and will undoubtedly lead to further opportunities to decarbonise our global operations."

Diesel truck

What is renewable diesel?

Renewable diesel is chemically identical to conventional diesel, but it’s created from renewable raw materials instead of crude oil. Because it’s so similar, we don’t need to modify our existing diesel engines – our existing fleet of diesel trucks, trains and mobile equipment can switch straight to using it. Renewable diesel generates far lower greenhouse gas emissions, and doesn’t have a shelf life, meaning its storage and distribution is far easier. And it meets the ASTM D975 specification for petroleum in the United States and EN 15940 in Europe.

Translating renewable diesel to other places

Given the success at Boron, we’re now conducting a trial at our Kennecott copper operation in Utah.

We've partnered with Cummins to trial renewable diesel at Bingham Canyon to see if it’s reliable as an alternative fuel for different equipment in a different environment.

Over the seven-month trial, the team is testing acceleration, speed, cycle times, fuel usage, and engine inspection reports for two trucks running on renewable diesel versus two trucks running on conventional diesel, using the same methodology as the Boron team so they can compare the results.

“It is great seeing the trial launch at Kennecott, in the Salt Lake Valley where I live with my family, and knowing that ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úis committed to reducing its carbon footprint,” said Brian, Senior Engineer, Projects. “Many teams at Kennecott, and in the wider Rio Tinto, are involved in making this project a success, and so far the data is very promising.”

Diesel accounts for the largest portion of Kennecott’s greenhouse gas emissions, and renewable diesel could provide one component in the overall mix of solutions that will be needed for decarbonisation. Alongside this, Kennecott is also one of a number of our sites that are running a trial of battery electric vehicles, aiming to fully decarbonise our haul truck fleets over the longer term.

Renewable diesel haul truck

From trial to transition at Boron

At Boron, we used Neste MY Renewable Diesel™, a hydrotreated vegetable oil made entirely from sustainably sourced renewable raw materials like used cooking oil and animal fat from the food industry. When used in its purest form, Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ can deliver up to 75% less greenhouse gas emissions over the full life cycle of the fuel than conventional diesel.2

The 7–month trial, started in 2022 in partnership with Neste and Rolls-Royce, showed trucks running on renewable diesel are as consistently reliable and efficient as trucks running on petroleum-based diesel, proving that it’s a viable alternative.

  • Footnotes

    1 Source: 45,000 tonnes CO2e is equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from 9,696 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year.

    2 The GHG emission reduction percentage varies depending on the region-specific legislation that provides the methodology for the calculations (e.g. EU RED II 2018/2001/EU for Europe and U.S. California LCFS for the U.S.), and the raw material mix used to manufacture the product for each market.

Related content

Autonomous vehicles

New tech for renewable transport

Transitioning the Pilbara to zero-emission trucks and trains
Autonomous truck, Gudai-Darri, Pilbara

Look inside a mine of the future

Our most intelligent mine yet is pioneering new mining technologies
Pilbara AutoHaul train

How did one of the world's largest robots end up here?

From big data to building the first autonomous train, innovation is part of our DNA