Rio Tinto considers hydrogen to cut alumina emissions

UK-Australian resources firm Rio Tinto is partnering with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) to study whether hydrogen can replace natural gas in alumina refineries to reduce emissions.

Rio Tinto will carry out a feasibility study, equally funded with Arena, into using hydrogen produced from renewable energy to replace natural gas in the calcination process of refining at the firm's Yarwun alumina refinery at Gladstone in Queensland.

The study includes work at Rio Tinto's Bundoora technical development centre in Melbourne, where in-house development has been extended to hydrogen. It will investigate potential technology that can contribute to the decarbonisation of the Australian alumina industry.

Rio Tinto, which has bauxite, alumina and aluminium operations, is aiming to reach net-zero emissions across its operations by 2050. It is targeting a 15pc cut in absolute emissions and a 30pc reduction in emissions intensity by 2030 from a 2018 baseline.

By Angus Macmillan