Rio Tinto and Sumitomo to build Gladstone hydrogen pilot plant to trial lower-carbon alumina refining
July 11 2023 - 6:30PM
Business Wire
Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Corporation will build a first-of-a-kind
hydrogen plant in Gladstone as part of a A$111.1 million program
aimed at lowering carbon emissions from the alumina refining
process.
The Yarwun Hydrogen Calcination Pilot Demonstration Program
received the green light after a A$32.1 million co-funding boost
from the federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency
(ARENA).
The program is aimed at demonstrating the viability of using
hydrogen in the calcination process, where hydrated alumina is
heated to temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
It involves construction of a hydrogen plant at the refinery and
the retrofit of refinery processing equipment. If successful, the
program could pave the way for adoption of the technology at scale
globally.
Rio Tinto Aluminium Pacific Operations Managing Director Armando
Torres said “This pilot plant is an important step in testing
whether hydrogen can replace natural gas in Queensland alumina
refineries.
“At Rio Tinto we have put the energy transition at the heart of
our business strategy, and this is one of the ways we’re working
towards decarbonising our operations.
“We are proud to be developing this new technology here in
Gladstone, in partnership with Sumitomo Corporation, and with
support from ARENA.”
The project will consist of construction of a 2.5MW on-site
electrolyser to supply hydrogen to the Yarwun refinery and a
retrofit of one of Yarwun’s four calciners so it can operate at
times with a hydrogen burner.
The trial is expected to produce the equivalent of about 6,000
tonnes of alumina per year while reducing Yarwun’s carbon dioxide
emissions by about 3,000 tonnes per year.
Converting the entire plant to green hydrogen could reduce
emissions by 500,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of
taking about 109,000 internal combustion engine cars off the
road.
Construction will start in 2024. The hydrogen plant and calciner
are expected to be in operation by 2025.
Sumitomo Corporation will own and operate the electrolyser at
Yarwun site and supply the hydrogen to Rio Tinto directly. The
electrolyser will have a production capacity of more than 250
tonnes of hydrogen annually.
Sumitomo Corporation Energy Innovation Initiative Director,
Seiji Kitajima said “We are excited to be delivering this hydrogen
project together with Rio Tinto as our long-term partner with the
support of ARENA.
“Demonstrating real-world applications of hydrogen in industrial
settings with motivated partners is essential to reducing carbon
emissions and working toward our company’s vision of achieving
carbon neutrality by 2050. Through this demonstration, Sumitomo
Corporation aims to venture into the commercialisation project to
contribute to Rio Tinto’s decarbonisation.”
“Sumitomo Corporation is proud to be working on yet another
hydrogen project in Australia and contributing to Australia’s own
emission reductions goals.”
The pilot plant follows the success of a A$1.2 million
feasibility study co-funded by Rio Tinto and ARENA that was
announced in 2021.
Rio Tinto is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050
and has targets to reduce Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 50% by 2030
from 2018 levels.
About Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation (“SC”) is a leading Fortune 500 global
trading and business investment company with 129 locations
(Japan:20, Overseas:109) in 66 countries and regions. The entire SC
Group consists of more than 900 companies. SC conducts commodity
transactions in all industries utilising worldwide networks,
provides customers with financing, serves as an organiser and a
coordinator for various projects, and invests in companies to
promote greater growth potential. SC’s core business areas include
six business units: Metal Products; Transportation &
Construction Systems; Infrastructure; Media & Digital; Living
Related & Real Estate; and Mineral Resources, Energy, Chemical
& Electronics, and one initiative: Energy Innovation. Sumitomo
Corporation established a new business organisation entitled the
Energy Innovation Initiative (EII) in April 2021 which will carry
this Gladstone project. In order to greatly contribute to the
achievement of our long-term goals toward climate change
mitigation, "Carbon neutralisation in 2050" and "Realisation of a
sustainable energy cycle", we will accelerate our efforts for the
materialisation of a hydrogen society by promoting hydrogen related
businesses.
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