Rio Tinto hires Njord for two-ship green retrofit project

Njord, a Denmark-based green technology business founded by Maersk Tankers, is partnering with Rio Tinto, a British-Australian mining group and one of the world’s largest dry-bulk shippers, to cut fuel consumption and emissions.

As informed, the partnership sees Njord design and install a package of energy-saving devices on two dry-bulk vessels owned by Rio Tinto.

Insights will be made available to accelerate technology adoption in the industry at large.

As part of the Marine Pioneer Portal project in 2022, Rio Tinto called on the global technology and innovation industries to pitch solutions and technologies the company could install on two 205,000 dwt Newcastlemax vessels to boost vessel energy efficiency and decarbonize shipping.

Njord has been engaged as a technology integrator by Rio Tinto to evaluate, design and combine the best package of technologies for the two vessels.

“Njord was selected as our technology partner to provide technical support and experience to our Marine Pioneer Portal project, which included analysing the wide range of technologies put forward, assessing the benefits to our vessels and ensuring successful integration of the solutions onboard,” Hollie Scoon, General Manager, Marine Operations & Performance at Rio Tinto, said.

“We look forward to collaborating with Njord to help accelerate adoption of fuel efficiency and carbon reduction technologies in the maritime industry,” Scoon added.

Following an assessment of the effectiveness of the proposed technologies, Njord designed green tech packages, tailored for each vessel, combining existing and new energy-savings devices. Njord and Rio Tinto are jointly installing the technologies.

“Energy efficiency measures play a crucial role in decarbonising shipping,” Frederik Pind, Managing Director of Njord, commented.

“Partnering with Rio Tinto – one of the frontrunners in the industry – offers a compelling opportunity to apply our expertise as a technology integrator to improve the energy efficiency of the vessels. By working together, we are confident that we can also assist others overcome some of the challenges of technology deployment.”

The two parties will measure the performance of the vessels before and after installation, to subsequently share their findings and experiences with the wider industry.

The aim is to inspire other owners and charterers to accelerate their adoption of energy-saving devices to cut fuel consumption and emissions.

The Anglo-Australian mining group is working to reach net zero by 2050 and has launched several initiatives in support of its decarbonization goals. In 2021, it partnered with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to determine whether hydrogen can replace LNG in alumina refineries to reduce CO2 emissions.

What is more, the company had been working together with British energy giant BP on a biofuel trial to help reduce carbon emissions from Rio Tinto’s marine fleet. Rio Tinto is a member of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and the First Movers Coalition.

Earlier this week, Rio Tinto’s dual-fuel bulker Mount Api was bunkered with LNG by Singapore’s newly built LNG bunker vessel Brassavola. Mount Api is chartered to Rio Tinto by Singapore-based shipping company Eastern Pacific Shipping.

Njord was brought to market in 2022, and today works with more than 80 owners and charterers from across container, bulk, gas and tanker shipping. Last November, the company was contracted by Greenheart, a subsidiary of the UK-based Hayfin Capital Management to design and install a package of energy-saving devices on the recently bought Capesize bulk carrier.