Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our business
We operate in 35 countries where our 57,000 employees are working to find better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our purpose in action
Continuous improvement and innovation are part of our DNA
Innovation
The need for innovation is greater than ever
We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow and decarbonise
Iron Ore
The primary raw material used to make steel, which is strong, long-lasting and cost-efficient
Lithium
The lightest of all metals, it is a key element needed for low-carbon technologies
Copper
Tough but malleable, corrosion-resistant and recyclable, and an excellent conductor of heat and transmitter of electricity
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Oyu Tolgoi
One of the most modern, safe and sustainable operations in the world
Rincon Project
A long-life, low-cost and low-carbon lithium source
Simandou Project
The world’s largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit
Providing materials the world needs in a responsible way
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Nature solutions
Our nature-based solutions projects complement the work we're doing to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Decarbonisation progress update
We have a clear plan on decarbonisation - find out more about our progress in 2024
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Investor seminars
Our Investor seminar will be held in London on 4 December, and our Decarbonisation update on 5 December
Get the latest news, stories and updates
Things you can't live without
Our podcast discussing what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on
The 'f' word of innovation
How unlocking innovation requires a change of mindset
Reducing titanium oxide's carbon footprint
Our BlueSmelting technology could drastically reduce carbon emissions during ore processing
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates and students
If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it
Empowering families with flexibility
Supporting new parents of any gender with equal access to parental leave
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“My dream is to green-ify the desert.”
He works with molecules – but Dr Felipe Torres says these small bits of matter could be the answer to one of the world’s biggest problems: water scarcity.
“If we can make this technology work, it has the potential to change the world,” Dr Torres says.
Water is essential for life. Yet more than two billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress. The World Economic Forum has ranked the global water crisis as the fourth biggest global risk in terms of its impact on society. And climate change is set to make the problem worse.
Seawater desalination – extracting the salt to turn it into fresh water for drinking and agriculture – is one way the world can help address a shortage. But globally desalinated water accounts for less than 0.5% of human needs. Conventional reverse osmosis desalination technology – where salt is filtered through a membrane – is a very expensive and energy-intensive process.
“It takes a lot of electric power to desalinate seawater via reverse osmosis, and so it indirectly contributes to pollution as most of our electricity is currently produced by fossil fuels,” Dr Torres said. Now – working with scientists from ANU, Tohoku University and start up Nano Frontier Technology in Japan – Dr Torres and his team are working on new technology they hope will make desalination a cheaper, more sustainable way to create fresh water. In 2020 they were awarded an A$132,000 research grant from the Foundation for Australia-Japan Studies (FAJS), funded by Rio Tinto, and are working towards a patent.
The law of gravity is the same on Earth as in any other galaxy. That’s why I love physics, it’s universal.
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I studied engineering because I wanted to contribute to society – to build things that solve challenges, like water shortage. That’s why I’m proud to be working with some of Australia’s and Japan’s leading scientists to create a new, more sustainable way to desalinate water.
I have always loved physics and maths. When I was 18, I was Colombia’s representative in the International Physics Olympiad in Indonesia – and it opened up possibilities to study abroad. Over the years I’ve done research in Australia, France and Japan.
I chose to study in Japan for my undergraduate degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering because I loved robots, and Japanese universities are really strong in the advanced technology space. I originally went for five years – but I ended up staying for 13! After studying my PhD I worked at Toshiba Corporation, motivated by Dr Tanaka Kōichi, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry and lecturer at Tohoku University.
Having a strong connection between academic research and industry is really important – that’s how you can make real-life impacts.
I say to my students – find the joy in science, and then visualise how you could use it to solve problems in the world. Always think of the bigger picture.”
This year marked our third year as the industry partner of the Foundation for Australia-Japan Studies, a not-for-profit organisation that encourages collaboration between academic institutions, government and industry in Australia and Japan. Since 2018, we have funded twelve research projects ranging from low-carbon desalination technology to robotics.
The new desalination technology is based on thermophoresis – using different temperatures to separate salt molecules from water molecules. Sound complicated? It is. In fact, thermophoresis is one of science’s great mysteries.
“Some molecules move towards heat while others move away from it. No one really knows why that happens. But it gives us an opportunity to use that temperature preference to separate salt from seawater,” Dr Torres said.
Thermophoresis is used in some industries, but this is a first for desalination. And by using heat created from solar power, the technology could prove to be a low-carbon solution – a huge benefit compared with reverse osmosis desalination.
While the technology looks promising, there is a lot more work to do before we may be drinking fresh water made by the team’s invention.
“The FAJS funding allows us to build a prototype, to see if it can work with large volumes of water in an energy-efficient way.
“I always tell my team to keep the big picture in mind – beyond desalination applications, we are also contributing new knowledge in relation to thermophoretic separation that can be used in other industries. In biotechnology, for example, it could be used to produce vaccines and medicines in a more efficient way.
“But ten years from now I hope to see people drinking water made by this technology,” Dr Torres said.
We hope so too.
Japan is one of our most important and longstanding customer markets, dating back about 100 years when we began shipping borates to Japan. In fact, we were able to develop our first iron ore mine in the Pilbara in the 1960s thanks to long-term offtake contracts signed by the Japanese steel mills, and today are the largest supplier of iron ore to Japan. We are also one of the largest exporters of metals and minerals such as aluminium, copper, borates, and titanium dioxide. And it doesn’t stop there: Japanese companies are important partners in many of our operations and projects, in our global supply chain as well as in innovation.
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With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
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