CAN$375mln investment in carbon-free aluminium smelter

Rio Tinto and the Québec Government will invest CAN$375mln to install the carbon-free aluminium demonstration plant at its Arvida smelter.

The Arvida smelter will be situated in Québec, Canada.

Rio Tinto will design, engineer, and build the demonstration plant that is equipped with 10 pots operating at 100kA. The company claims the plant will produce up to 2,500t of commercial-quality aluminium per year without direct greenhouse gas emissions.

The plant will use the same carbon-free aluminium smelting cells as the ELYSIS Industrial Research and Development Center in Saguenay – Lac-St-Jean – the technology company that issued the first licence. It is hoped the pilot system will begin in 2024.

ELYSIS joint venture partner Alcoa has the option to purchase a portion of the aluminium produced over the first four years at the Arvida demonstration plant through an offtake agreement.