Rio Tinto enters agreement with BMW to provide hydro-produced aluminum

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rio Tinto on Tuesday said it would supply BMW with aluminum it produces in Canada using hydroelectric power, lowering the auto manufacturer's carbon footprint with respect to its procurement of the automotive metal.

The UK-based mining company and the German automaker announced in separate statements that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Rio Tinto's hydro-powered operations in Canada to provide a BMW production plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with an unspecified amount of aluminum starting in 2024 -- a move that "could generate a reduction of up to 70 percent in CO2 emissions compared to the BMW Group's benchmark for aluminum," according to Rio Tinto.

"The agreement to supply low-carbon aluminium" is also aimed at "ramping up our use of aluminium with no direct CO2 emissions from the smelting process," wrote Joachim Post, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, which is responsible for its purchasing and supplier network.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Sandra Maler)