As premium car buyer priorities move from speed, style, and luxury to greater interest in the origin, sustainability, and emissions profile of car materials, a new mantra has emerged: “Green is the new black.” This fundamental shift in the automotive market has led to the creation of a new, innovative partnership between Rio Tinto and the BMW Group, which share a common goal of developing more responsible, sustainable, traceable, and secure supply chains.   

Under the new partnership, Rio Tinto says it plans to provide responsibly-sourced aluminum to the BMW Group’s vehicle production plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for use in body components from 2024.

Low-carbon primary aluminum from Rio Tinto’s hydro-powered operations in Canada, combined with recycled content, could generate a reduction of up to 70% in CO2 emissions compared to the BMW Group’s benchmark for aluminum. 

The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that 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 aluminum produced using ELYSIS on BMW production vehicles––ELYSIS is the world’s first carbon-free smelting technology for aluminum as it enables the production of aluminum 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’s world-leading position in responsible aluminum production means we can offer innovative solutions to our customers on their decarbonization journey toward net zero,” said Rio Tinto Chief Commercial Officer Alf Barrios. “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.”   

Joachim Post, BMW AG member of the board of management, responsible for purchasing and supplier network, 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 aluminum 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 aluminum with no direct CO2 emissions from the smelting process.”