Rio Tinto takes further steps toward hydrogen
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said August 23 that it signed a letter of intent with Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. to study the potential for hydrogen at an alumina refinery in Australia.
The Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone could be the future location for a hydrogen plant, which Rio Tinto said would be part of a broader hydrogen hub at the coastal city in Queensland.
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“Reducing the carbon intensity of our alumina production will be key to meeting our 2030 and 2050 climate targets,” said Rio Tinto CEO Kellie Parker. “There is clearly more work to be done, but partnerships and projects like this are an important part of helping us get there.”
This builds on a June announcement that Rio Tinto was teaming up with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to investigate switching from natural gas to hydrogen at the alumina refinery.
The partners said they would spend $923,000 on a feasibility study into whether hydrogen is a viable alternative to natural gas at Yarwun. The study with ARENA will look at the construction and operational requirements of a potential demonstration project at Yarwun as well as lab-scale developments.
Rio Tinto’s announcement followed a decision by the Australian and German governments to invest in a series of new initiatives to accelerate the development of a hydrogen industry, to the tune of about $92mn.
Through alternative fuels and other low-carbon initiatives, Rio Tinto aims to cut its absolute emissions by 15% of their 2018 baseline by 2030.
“Sumitomo has commenced the design study and preliminary master planning to build the Gladstone hydrogen ecosystem and we will continue to work towards future hydrogen exports from Gladstone,” said Hajime Mori, the company’s innovation director.