Rio Tinto will install carbon-free aluminium smelting cells at its Arvida smelter in Québec, Canada, using the first technology licence issued by the ELYSIS joint venture. (Earlier post.) This investment will support the ongoing development of the breakthrough 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 (kA). The plant will be owned by a new joint venture in which Rio Tinto and the Government of Québec, through Investissement Québec, will invest $179 million (CAN$235 million) and $106 million (CAN$140 million) respectively as equity partners, for a total investment of US$285 million (CAN$375 million).

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. This pilot operation will be a critical step in Rio Tinto’s learning journey towards full scale industrialization of the ELYSIS technology.

The plant will have the capacity to produce up to 2,500 tonnes of commercial quality aluminum per year without direct greenhouse gas emissions, with first production targeted by 2027. It will be located adjacent to the existing Arvida smelter, allowing the use of the current alumina supply and casting facilities.

ELYSIS joint venture partner Alcoa will have the option to purchase from Rio Tinto a portion of the aluminum 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.