Rio Tinto and Sumitomo to build Gladstone hydrogen pilot plant to trial lower-carbon alumina refining

Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Corporation will build a first-of-a-kind hydrogen plant in Gladstone as part of a A$111.1 million program aimed at lowering carbon emissions from the alumina refining process.

The Yarwun Hydrogen Calcination Pilot Demonstration Program received the green light after a A$32.1 million co-funding boost from the federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

The program is aimed at demonstrating the viability of using hydrogen in the calcination process, where hydrated alumina is heated to temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.