Rio Tinto enters into one-year biofuel trial with BP

Rio Tinto, a giant mining company, will be working with BP on a one-year biofuel trial to help reduce carbon emissions from its fleet. Under the deal, BP will be supplying biofuel for Rio Tinto’s 2013-built capesize bulker RTM Tasman on a mix of Transatlantic and Atlantic-Pacific routes, in what is said to be one of the longest-duration marine biofuel trials to date.

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 is said to reduce lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions by up to 26% compared to standard marine fuel oil.