Beginning in 2024, the metal will be incorporated into the body of vehicles built at the BMW Group’s Spartanburg, South Carolina manufacturing plant.

Rio Tinto will initially supply aluminum produced using hydroelectric power in Canada, in addition to recycled aluminum as Arvida’s aluminum recycling center allows.

The two companies have also signed a memorandum of understanding on the potential use of aluminum produced using the Elysis technology being developed at Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

However, Rio Tinto’s press release does not specify a date for this type of aluminum, which is produced using a process with zero greenhouse gas emissions.

It will depend on the development of technologyconfirmed in an interview Malika Cherry, Media Relations Advisor for Canada and the United States of Rio Tinto.

Last week, Ivan Vella, chief executive of Rio Tinto’s aluminum division, and executive director of Atlantic Operations, Sébastien Ross, declined to provide a timeline for the deployment of Elysis technology, which should be prioritized in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean .

CO2 reduction

Low-carbon primary aluminum produced at Rio Tinto’s hydroelectric power plants in Canada, combined with recycled content, could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70% compared to BMW’s aluminum benchmarkcan also be read in the press release.

Technical experts from both companies will work together to define how these low-carbon solutions will enter BMW’s supply chain.

The companies will also work to implement Rio Tinto’s START initiative. START provides customers and consumers with supply chain traceability so they can obtain information on provenance and ESG standards, the press release tells us.

A big investment

Last October, BMW announced a $1 billion investment in its Spartanburg plant to build electric vehicles. An additional investment of US$700 million will be used to build a battery factory.

With information from Annie-Claude Brisson and Pascal Girard