Rio Tinto and Carbfix – the direct air capture company that turns CO2 into rock, announced they are partnering to implement a technology for carbon capture and storage at the ISAL aluminium smelter in Iceland.
Relevant: Carbfix Turns CO2 Into Rock
The deal includes a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to use Carbfix technology to sequester the CO2 from the ISAL smelter in Rio Tinto’s land surrounding it. The ISAL site could be the first smelter in the aluminum industry where carbon capture and storage is implemented.
“The world’s climate goals will not be met without large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage. Partnering with Rio Tinto will allow Carbfix to take a significant step forward in developing the world’s first carbon mineral storage hub, so our technology can make a sizeable contribution to global climate efforts,” said Carbfix CEO Edda Sif Aradottir.
Rio Tinto Aluminium Chief Executive Ivan Vella also expressed excitement about the opportunities to apply Carbfix’s carbon capture technology for decarbonization across the company’s operations.
He said that the innovative technology developed by Carbfix is a pathway towards reducing the emissions of aluminum production at the ISAL smelter that already produces low carbon aluminum using renewable energy.
Its direct air capture technology involves a complete capture and injection solution where the CO2 is dissolved in water and injected underground in special favorable rock formations so that it can form solid carbonate minerals via natural processes that take about 2 years.
Relevant: Carbfix And Elkem Iceland To Team Up For Reducing Carbon Footprint
Carbfix also plans to drill the first injection wells for the Coda Terminal in 2022, with shipments of CO2 starting in 2025.
The partnership between the two companies is expanding the outreach of carbon capture technologies across various industries for decarbonization. A leading global mining group like Rio Tinto looking into reducing emissions is a turning point of the business as usual world.
