In early 2021, Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies, introduced a blockchain sustainability solution for aluminium, START. Today, mining company and automaker BMW Group announced a partnership to supply aluminum START tracks to BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant beginning in 2024.

Blockchain is just one part of the deal, as it adds traceability so customers and consumers can track the provenance of aluminum and ESG compliance.

Reducing the carbon footprint of aluminum is based on three factors. Rio Tinto uses hydropower in Canada and will include up to 50% recycled aluminum. The biggest contribution is a new aluminum smelting technology, ELYSIS, which claims to emit pure oxygen instead of carbon dioxide during the smelting process. It was developed in partnership with competitor Alcoa with support from Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec.

BMW is considering a possible 70% reduction in CO2 from Rio Tinto’s aluminium. It estimates that a quarter of its supply chain’s CO2 emissions are attributable to aluminium. However, this agreement is for a single factory.

“By using innovative materials, we are able to reduce the carbon footprint of our vehicles,” said Joachim Post, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “The agreement to supply low-carbon aluminum is based on several pillars: in addition to hydropower and secondary material, we also want to lead the automotive industry in increasing our use of aluminum with no direct CO2 emissions from the smelting process.”

Meanwhile, last week Rio Tinto announced an agreement with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation to supply START-certified aluminum to downstream manufacturers, including a major Japanese motorcycle manufacturer (probably Yamaha or Kawasaki).

Rio Tinto has other interests in blockchain and has been involved in transactions on the Contour trade finance blockchain network.

BMW has extensive blockchain-related interests, including PartsChain for its international supply chain.