Hydro and Rio Tinto partner on carbon capture technologies for aluminium smelters

Aluminium and renewable energy company Hydro and Rio Tinto will join forces to identify and evaluate available carbon capture technologies for future implementation in the aluminium electrolysis process.

Together the partners expect to invest approximately USD 45 million over five years to support this initiative, with most of the work conducted at Hydro’s facilities in Norway and Rio Tinto’s facilities in Europe. Beyond this collaboration, both companies will continue to pursue substantial decarbonization efforts independently.

Anode consumption during the electrolysis process accounts for approximately three quarters of a smelter's direct CO2 emissions. For several years, scientists from Hydro and Rio Tinto have been exploring different carbon capture technologies as complementary solutions to help each company meet their climate targets, in addition to the development and scaling up of carbon free aluminium smelting technologies such as Hydro's HalZero technology and Rio Tinto’s participation in the ELYSIS joint venture.

“Hydro is accelerating our ambitious roadmap to achieve net-zero aluminium production by 2050 or sooner, advancing solutions across every step of our value chain, from mine to metal. Carbon capture technologies are critical to decarbonizing existing smelters. Our partnership with Rio Tinto will amplify efforts to develop fit for purpose solutions that can accelerate the aluminium industry's transition towards net-zero production,” says Hydro President and CEO Eivind Kallevik.

“Rio Tinto’s is committed to reaching net-zero emissions from our operations by 2050, and we know that achieving our climate objectives will require a portfolio of solutions. By working in partnership with Hydro to assess certain carbon capture technologies for aluminium smelters, we are finding better ways to leverage our complementary networks and R&D capabilities to address the climate change challenge,” says Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm.

Capturing carbon from aluminium smelter flue gas, with CO2 concentrations around 1 percent (vol.), requires adapting direct air capture technologies for higher concentrations or point source technologies for lower concentrations. In both cases, the current technology readiness level is low and requires significant development efforts to mature from laboratory to commercial scale. The collaboration between Hydro and Rio Tinto aims to speed up this development process to abate greenhouse gas emissions from smelters.