MINING company Rio Tinto has announced it will develop pongamia seed farms at a site near Townsville as part of a new biofuels pilot.

Pongamia is a leguminous tree related to soybeans, peas, and peanuts.

It produces oil-rich seeds, which hold potential for various uses, including biofuel production, livestock feed, and even human consumption.

In a statment, Rio Tinto said the project will explore the potential of pongamia seed oil as a feedstock for renewable diesel as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels.

The pilot aims to determine if pongamia seed oil can contribute to Rio Tinto’s renewable diesel needs while potentially contributing to the growth of a new biofuel sector in Australia.

Rio Tinto is in the final stages of acquiring approximately 3000ha of cleared land near Townsville to establish farms to study growth conditions and measure seed-oil yields.

Rio Tinto has partnered with Midway Limited to oversee the planting and management of the pongamia seed farms.

Midway Limited will engage with nurseries, agricultural experts, and research organisations throughout the pilot, and prioritise opportunities for traditional owners and local communities.

Rio Tinto chief decarbonisation officer Jonathon McCarthy said Rio Tinto was actively exploring the potential of biofuels in the low-carbon energy mix.

“Australia does not yet have a biofuel feedstock industry sufficient to meet domestic demand,” Mr McCarthy said.

“A sustainable biofuels industry here could enhance the region’s fuel security, create local economic opportunities, and contribute to emissions reductions targets.

“We are excited about the potential of the pongamia seed pilot and look forward to partnering with Midway Limited and North Queensland communities.”

Midway Limited managing director Tony McKenna said Midway was “very excited” to be partnering with Rio Tinto on the biofuel pilot project near Townsville.

“We are proud to be playing an important role in helping develop a sustainable domestic biofuel industry,” Mr McKenna said.

“The collaboration continues the growth of our position as trusted providers with the capability and experience to deliver a variety of projects for emitters who are committed to seeking alternative solutions to reduce their net emissions.”

This pilot follows a smaller-scale trial at Rio Tinto’s Gove operations in the Northern Territory, where pongamia saplings were planted so their response to low soil quality, heat, and other climatic conditions in northern Australia could be gauged.​

Other biofuel projects

In its 2023 Climate Change Report, Rio Tinto signalled its interest in creating a biofuel industry in Australia.

“Biofuels are critical to ensuring we meet our 2030 Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets and we are exploring short and medium-term commercial biofuel options to rapidly reduce our reliance on diesel,” the report said.

It included goals to “consider option to develop an Australian biofuel supply chain” and undertake biofuel studies for its Gladstone alumina refineries.

In June, Rio Tinto announced it would progress a new $215 million research and development facility at the Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area, south of Perth, to further assess its low-carbon iron-making process, BioIron.

BioIron uses raw biomass, such as agricultural by-products like wheat straw, barley straw, sugarcane bagasse, rice stalks, and canola straw instead of coal to convert Pilbara iron ore to metallic iron in the steelmaking process.

Rio Tinto has not announced how it will acquire enough biomass to fuel the plant; however, it has said that only sustainable sources of biomass will be used in the process.

Through discussions with environmental groups, as a first step Rio Tinto has ruled out sources that support the logging of old-growth and High Conservation Value forests.

Pongamia projects

This is also not the first pongamia trial crop to be located in Queensland.

Several companies are currently researching the crop for different applications at sites across the state.

Energreen Nutrition, a company proposing to build a  multi-oilseed crushing plant near Emerald, has expressed its intention to develop pongamia as a feedstock for the plant.

On its website, the company said its long-term plan was to “develop a business model to establish pongamia oil as the foremost biofuel feedstock in Queensland”.

“This will involve the establishment of the first commercial-scale pongamia pinata plantation in Australia by 2025,” the website said.

Energreen Nutrition has partnered with National Biodiesel Distributors to trial the crop.

Another company, Terviva, is trialling the crop at Emerald and appears to be developing the crop for further applications, such as human consumption and stockfeed.

The University of Queensland has researched pongamia for 15 years, and there have been trial plantings at Roma, Gatton, Toogoolawah, Caboolture, South Johnstone, Atherton, Darwin, and Kununurra.

 

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