Company: RTNTF
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001628280-25-006642
Chunk: 105

Company: RIO TINTO LTD
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 20-F
Chunk 105
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leet riotinto.com/climatechange |

Processing minerals and metals

| Aluminium anodes6.9Mt CO2e(2023: 7.1Mt CO2e) |     | Alumina refining5.7Mt CO2e(2023: 5.8Mt CO2e) |     | Minerals processing1.8Mt CO2e(2023: 1.9Mt CO2e) |     | $144mdecarbonisation spend on processingminerals and metals programs in 2024. |

Aluminium anodes We are working to develop a breakthrough aluminium smelting technology with no direct greenhouse gas emissions. The ELYSIS™ partnership was established in 2018 with Alcoa, with support from Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec, to develop the world’s first direct emissions-free aluminium smelting process using inert anodes to replace carbon ones. Work at Alma is now focused on scaling up the ELYSIS™ technology towards the demonstration of commercial-size cells. The smelting cells will operate on an electrical current of 450kA, which is the commercial scale for many large, modern aluminium smelters. As noted above, research and development is complex and sometimes takes longer than planned. Commissioning these cells was originally anticipated in 2023 but is now expected to be in 2025 due to delays in installing and commissioning some equipment. A plan is now in place to complete these crucial steps, and the fundamentals of the technology remain sound. We also aim to grow capacity for our ELYSIS™ low-carbon smelting technology. Before 2030 our use of ELYSIS™ carbon free smelting technology will support new production and will not address emissions from existing carbon anodes. For all of our smelters, the deployment of ELYSIS™ technology is inextricably tied to the long-term plans for the underlying assets. For this reason, associated abatement is not currently reflected in the forecast 2030 plan, but we expect to phase out the use of carbon anodes at our smelters beyond 2030. In June 2024, we announced an investment of $285 million to build a demonstration plant using the first ELYSIS™ technology licence, in partnership with the Government of Quebec. This plant will be built at the Arvida smelter in Quebec equipped with 10 carbon-free aluminium smelting cells operating at 100kA. The investment will support the