Rio Tinto and Hydro will join forces to evaluate available carbon capture technologies for future implementation in the aluminium electrolysis process.
The companies have signed a partnership agreement that provides for the sharing of certain information, results and costs covering specific R&D activities from lab tests with external suppliers to larger, on-site pilots, with the aim of creating improved offerings of commercially viable carbon capture technologies from relevant suppliers.
Together, the partners expect to invest approximately $45m over five years, with most of work conducted at Rio Tinto’s facilities in Europe and Hydro’s facilities in Norway. Beyond this collaboration, both companies will continue to pursue substantial decarbonisation efforts independently.
Anode consumption during the electrolysis process accounts for approximately three-quarters of a smelter’s direct CO2 emissions. Another complication is more than half of electricity needed for aluminium smelters comes from coal-fired power plants, according to McKinsey, making the sector one of the highest emitters and accounting for 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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