Post by account_disabled on Feb 20, 2024 1:52:33 GMT -5
Rio Tinto, an Anglo-Australian metals and mining company, has partnered with Japan's Sumitomo Corporation to build a first-of-its-kind green hydrogen plant in Australia. The deal is part of Yarwun's A$ million hydrogen calcination pilot program aimed at reducing carbon emissions from the alumina refining process.
The program was given the green light after a co-funding boost of A$ million from the federal government's Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Its objective is to demonstrate the viability of using hydrogen in the calcination process, where hydrated alumina is heated to temperatures of up to , degrees Celsius. The program involves the construction of a hydrogen plant at the refinery and the modernization of the refinery's processing equipment.
The project will include the construction of a MW on-site electrolyser to supply hydrogen to the Yarwun alumina refinery and the modernization of one of Yarwun's four calciners so that it can occasionally ope C Level Executive List rate with a hydrogen burner. If adding that is successful, the program could pave the way for adoption of the technology on a global scale.
The hydrogen plant will reduce the Yarwun refinery's carbon dioxide emissions by around , tonnes a year. It is also expected to produce the equivalent of about , tonnes of alumina per year.
“This pilot plant is an important step in testing whether hydrogen can replace natural gas in Queensland alumina refineries,” said Armando Torres, chief operating officer of Rio Tinto Aluminum Pacific. “At Rio Tinto, we have put the energy transition at the center of our business strategy, and this is one of the ways we are working to decarbonize our operations.”
Sumitomo will own and operate the electrolyser at the Yarwun site and supply the hydrogen to Rio Tinto directly. Sumitomo said the electrolyzer would have a production capacity of more than tons of hydrogen per year.
The company says it has already completed its front-end engineering and design (FEED) study in March Construction of the hydrogen plant and calciner will begin in and the plant is expected to be operational in
The program was given the green light after a co-funding boost of A$ million from the federal government's Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Its objective is to demonstrate the viability of using hydrogen in the calcination process, where hydrated alumina is heated to temperatures of up to , degrees Celsius. The program involves the construction of a hydrogen plant at the refinery and the modernization of the refinery's processing equipment.
The project will include the construction of a MW on-site electrolyser to supply hydrogen to the Yarwun alumina refinery and the modernization of one of Yarwun's four calciners so that it can occasionally ope C Level Executive List rate with a hydrogen burner. If adding that is successful, the program could pave the way for adoption of the technology on a global scale.
The hydrogen plant will reduce the Yarwun refinery's carbon dioxide emissions by around , tonnes a year. It is also expected to produce the equivalent of about , tonnes of alumina per year.
“This pilot plant is an important step in testing whether hydrogen can replace natural gas in Queensland alumina refineries,” said Armando Torres, chief operating officer of Rio Tinto Aluminum Pacific. “At Rio Tinto, we have put the energy transition at the center of our business strategy, and this is one of the ways we are working to decarbonize our operations.”
Sumitomo will own and operate the electrolyser at the Yarwun site and supply the hydrogen to Rio Tinto directly. Sumitomo said the electrolyzer would have a production capacity of more than tons of hydrogen per year.
The company says it has already completed its front-end engineering and design (FEED) study in March Construction of the hydrogen plant and calciner will begin in and the plant is expected to be operational in