Rio Tinto obtains the first license to operate Elysis technology, to produce carbon-free aluminum. A demonstration plant with ten 100-kiloamp cells will be built in Arvida, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
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“What we are doing is confirming Canada’s place as a leader in the manufacturing of green aluminum,” said federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne. “Green aluminum is the future, it’s positioning ourselves for the next 100 years.”
Total investments of $375 million will come from a new joint venture between Rio Tinto and Investissements Québec. The multinational will come from 235 million, while the provincial government offers 140 million.
“Our government is investing $140 million in technology, which is really good news today,” said Andrée Laforest, provincial minister for the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.
“We wanted to accelerate the commercial deployment of Elysis,” explains Pierre Fitzgibbon, provincial Minister of Economy. “We will only provide financial assistance for the deployment, but it is structured financing for which we will eventually receive it.”
The demonstration plant will be adjacent to the existing one at the Jonquière Complex. Around 2,500 tonnes of aluminum will be produced there each year.
“That may not seem like much tonnage, but to give you an image, that’s 275,000 aluminum wheels for automobiles,” says Sébastien Ross, general director of Atlantic operations.
A step forward for the region
Production is expected to begin by 2027. This is excellent news for the employees’ union, the Syndicat national des employées de l’aluminium d’Arvida (SNEAA).
“Before we had no projects in Jonquière, we were moving towards closures, there we have lots of projects and we are looking towards the future,” indicated the president of the SNEAA Donat Pearson.
Rio Tinto also confirmed that the commercial-scale Elysis plant will be in Alma. The new facilities announced in Arvida on Friday are intended to speed up the process.
“What we want to do is learn, go step by step, “derisk” the process, get the problems out as quickly as possible for the real announcement that we are waiting for. The bet we are making is that by doing this, on the overall program, we will save time on the schedule,” emphasizes Mr. Ross.
Rio Tinto and the Elysis project have been reassuring about regional jobs.
“For now, we are creating jobs with Elysis, we are creating growth with Elysis. I don’t anticipate any impact on carbon,” he adds.
“We want to add production, when we add production, it will create jobs. On our side, we have 200 jobs, including 100 in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean with two research centers,” notes Vincent Christ, President and CEO of Elysis.
As for the prototype tanks at the Alma aluminum smelter, construction is now complete according to Rio Tinto. The start-up sequence will begin this year in 2024.
