(Reuters) – Rio Tinto has agreed to explore production of a low-carbon steel feedstock in Canada, the global miner said on Tuesday, as part of its strategy to reduce carbon emissions.
The miner said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Luxembourg-based engineering firm Paul Wurth S.A. and German steelmaker SHS-Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co. KGaA. (https://bit.ly/3qrq4VE)
The companies will explore the viability of transforming iron ore pellets into low-carbon hot briquetted iron (HBI), a low-carbon steel feedstock, using green hydrogen generated from hydro-electricity in Canada, Rio said.
Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), in which Rio holds a majority stake, will supply high-grade iron ore for the project, with a feasibility study for potential industrial scale low-carbon iron production scheduled to be completed in late 2021.
As a part of Rio’s climate strategy, the partnership will “support the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies for hard-to-abate processes like steelmaking,” IOC President and Chief Executive Clayton Walker said.
Last December, Rio unveiled plans to invest $10 million in low-carbon steelmaking projects over the next two years in an effort to fight climate change along with China Baowu Steel Group.
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
