Rio Tinto to install carbon free aluminium smelting cells using ELYSIS license

Rio Tinto (RIO) will install carbon free aluminium smelting cells at its Arvida smelter in Quebec, Canada, using the first technology licence issued by the ELYSIS joint venture. This investment will support the ongoing development of the ELYSIS technology and allow Rio Tinto to build expertise in its installation and operation. Rio Tinto will design, engineer, and build a demonstration plant equipped with ten pots operating at 100 kiloamperes. The plant will be owned by a new joint venture in which Rio Tinto and the Government of Quebec, through Investissement Quebec, will invest $179M and $106M respectively as equity partners, for a total investment of $285M. This facility will use the same technology that has been successfully demonstrated at the ELYSIS Industrial Research and Development Center in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. ELYSIS joint venture partner Alcoa (AA) will have the option to purchase from Rio Tinto a portion of the aluminium produced over the first four years at the Arvida demonstration plant through an offtake agreement. The joint venture is continuing its research and development program to scale up the ELYSIS technology and has completed the construction of larger prototype 450 kA cells at the end of an existing potline at Rio Tinto’s Alma smelter. ELYSIS has begun commissioning these industrial prototype cells, with the start-up sequence set to begin in 2024.