What if you could produce a product essential to countless consumer items, without any greenhouse gas emissions at all? Those are the thought going through the minds of innovators at Rio Tinto, which has been active in the aluminum sector for more than 110 years.
Rio Tinto, Alcoa and Apple are partnering to develop a revolutionary carbon-free smelting process to make aluminum, which produces oxygen and replaces all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional aluminum smelting process. Combined, Rio Tinto, Alcoa, the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec and Apple are investing $188 million (CAD).
In announcing the partnership, Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said, “This is a revolutionary smelting process that can deliver a significant reduction in carbon emissions. It builds on the key role aluminum has to play in driving human progress, by making products infinitely recyclable, stronger, lighter and more fuel efficient. Rio Tinto is proud to work with Alcoa, Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec, to drive an innovation that can transform the industry and our customers’ supply chains.”
“This discovery has been a long-sought goal for the aluminum industry, and this announcement is the culmination of the work from many dedicated Alcoa employees. Today, our history of innovation continues as we take aluminum’s sustainable advantage to a new level with the potential to improve the carbon footprint of a range of products from cars to consumer electronics,” added Alcoa President and CEO Roy Harvey.
source: https://nma.org, July 2, 2018
