Road to a Greener Future: Rio Tinto Partners with BMW Group on Premium Aluminium Car Parts
February 21 2023 - 3:00AM
Business Wire
Gone are the days when premium car buyers simply looked for
speed, style, and luxury. Today, there's increasing interest in the
origin, sustainability and emissions profile of the materials used
to build their cars.
The new mantra for the high-end auto industry is “green is the
new black.” From the leather used for upholstery to the metals used
for engine parts, premium car buyers are increasingly demanding
vehicles made from responsibly sourced materials.
This fundamental shift in the automotive market has led to the
creation of a new, innovative partnership between Rio Tinto and the
BMW Group, leaders in their respective industries who share a
common goal of developing more responsible, sustainable, traceable
and secure supply chains.
Under this new partnership, Rio Tinto plans to provide
responsibly sourced aluminium to the BMW Group’s vehicle production
plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for use in body components
from 2024.
Low-carbon primary aluminium from Rio Tinto’s hydro-powered
operations in Canada, combined with recycled content, could
generate a reduction of up to 70 percent in CO2 emissions compared
to the BMW Group’s benchmark for aluminium.
The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) which will see technical experts working together on how to
embed these low-carbon solutions into the BMW Group’s supply chain
while ensuring the highest standards of vehicle quality are
maintained. The partnership provides for the use of aluminium
produced using ELYSIS™ on BMW production vehicles. ELYSIS™ is the
world’s first carbon free smelting technology for aluminium as it
enables the production of aluminium metal without direct carbon
dioxide emissions during the smelting process, instead emitting
pure oxygen.
Rio Tinto and the BMW Group will also work to deploy START from
Rio Tinto. START provides supply chain traceability to customers
and consumers with information about provenance and ESG
standards.
Rio Tinto Chief Commercial Officer Alf Barrios said: “Rio
Tinto’s world-leading position in responsible aluminium production
means we can offer innovative solutions to our customers on their
decarbonisation journey toward net zero. As global demand for
responsibly sourced materials continues to grow, automakers are
increasingly looking to partner with suppliers who share their
commitment to traceability and sustainability. Rio Tinto is proud
to play a role in helping to drive a greener future in the premium
car industry through this partnership with the BMW Group and we
look forward to deepening our ties with the automotive industry in
the years ahead.”
BMW AG member of the Board of Management, responsible for
Purchasing and Supplier Network, Joachim Post, said: “We have clear
goals for lowering CO2 emissions in the supply chain. By using
innovative materials, we can reduce our vehicles’ carbon footprint
– even before handing them over to customers. The agreement to
supply low-carbon aluminium is based on several pillars: in
addition to hydroelectric power and secondary material, we also
want to lead the automotive industry by ramping up our use of
aluminium with no direct CO2 emissions from the smelting
process.”
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of
Innovation, Science and Industry, said: “Canada is a global
destination of choice for low-carbon investment. This exciting
partnership between BMW and Rio Tinto is proof that Canada is well
positioned to seize the economic benefits of the clean economy. I
am proud to see that low carbon Canadian aluminum will be going
into BMW’s vehicles. Canada will continue to enhance our
competitive advantages—abundance of critical minerals, skilled
labour, clean energy, proximity to markets—to grow our economy and
to support made-in-Canada innovation.”
Notes to editors
ELYSIS is a technology company created through a partnership
between aluminium industry leaders Rio Tinto and Alcoa, with
support from Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec. ELYSIS
is scaling up a revolutionary technology that enables the
production of metal without direct carbon dioxide emissions during
the aluminium smelting process, instead emitting pure oxygen. The
technology uses inert anodes to replace the carbon anodes
traditionally used during electrolysis, the process used to make
primary aluminium. Learn more at www.elysis.com.
In 2021, Rio Tinto launched START, a new standard in
transparency, traceability and provenance for the aluminium
industry. Using secure blockchain technology, START provides key
information about how Rio Tinto aluminium was made, covering
fourteen criteria: global warming potential, water management,
waste management, energy sources, air emissions, biodiversity, land
management, recycled content, safety performance, community
investment, third-party assessments, ethics and compliance
training, diversity in leadership and Rio Tinto’s whistleblower
programme. Through START, Rio Tinto empowers its customers and
theirs to make a more sustainable choice.
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