The proposed demonstration plant will be located adjacent to the Arvida smelter. Credit: Funtay/Shutterstock.

Rio Tinto is planning to install the first carbon-free aluminium smelting cells using technology licensed from the ELYSIS joint venture (JV) at its Arvida smelter in Québec, Canada.

This move marks a significant step towards the industrialisation of the Elysis technology, which aims to produce aluminium without direct greenhouse gas emissions.

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Rio Tinto will invest alongside the Government of Québec to establish a demonstration plant and own it under a JV.

This plant will feature ten pots operating at 100 kiloamperes (kA).

Rio Tinto and the Government of Québec, through Investissement Québec, have committed $179m (C$235m) and $106m, respectively, to the venture.

The technology was already proven at the ELYSIS Industrial Research and Development Centre in Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean, Canada.

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Rio Tinto plans to further develop the technology at the demonstration plant, which is expected to produce up to 2,500t of commercial-quality aluminium annually.

Due to be commissioned from 2027, the facility will be located adjacent to the Arvida smelter and will utilise existing alumina supply and casting infrastructure.

Alcoa, a partner in the Elysis JV, has secured an option through an offtake agreement to purchase a share of the aluminium produced during the initial four years of operation at the Arvida demonstration plant.

Rio Tinto aluminium CEO Jérôme Pécresse said: “This investment will further strengthen Rio Tinto’s industry-leading position in low-carbon, responsible aluminium in North America with our hydro-powered smelters and our recycling capacity.

“Becoming the first to deploy the Elysis carbon-free smelting technology is the next step in our strategy to decarbonise and grow our Canadian aluminium operations. In addition to delivering even lower-carbon primary aluminium for our customers, this investment will allow Rio Tinto to build its expertise on installing and operating this new technology, while the Elysis joint venture continues its research and development work to scale it up to its full potential.”

Last month, Rio Tinto said it plans to invest $165m to refurbish two anode baking furnaces at its Grande-Baie smelter in Quebec.

The project will cover feasibility studies for replacing scrubbers as well as overhead bridge cranes.