Image of hydrogen calcination technology and machines

Yarwun Hydrogen Calcination Pilot

Gladstone, Queensland, Australia

At our Yarwun Alumina Refinery, we’re building a hydrogen plant and retrofitting existing refinery equipment in a world-first, proof-of-concept project to reduce carbon emissions from the alumina refining process.

The Yarwun Hydrogen Calcination Pilot will demonstrate the viability of using hydrogen in the calcination process, where hydrated alumina is heated to temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.

In a A$111 million partnership with Summit Hydrogen Gladstone, a 100% subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, and federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub (CQHH), we’re building a 2.5MW electrolyser on-site to supply hydrogen to the Yarwun refinery, which Sumitomo will operate to supply more than 250 tonnes of hydrogen per year to the refinery.

We’re also retrofitting one of Yarwun’s 4 calciners so it can operate at times with a hydrogen burner.

We expect to produce the equivalent of about 6,000 tonnes of alumina per year while reducing Yarwun’s carbon dioxide emissions by about 3,000 tonnes per year.

Construction began in 2024, and we expect the hydrogen plant and calciner to be operational in H2 2025. If successful, the program could pave the way for global adoption of this technology.

This pilot plant is an important step in testing whether hydrogen can replace natural gas in Queensland alumina refineries. We have put the energy transition at the heart of our business strategy, and this is one of the ways we’re working towards decarbonising our operations. We are proud to be developing this new technology here in Gladstone, in partnership with Sumitomo Corporation, and with support from ARENA.”

- Armando Torres, Rio Tinto Aluminium Pacific Operations Managing Director

Our Yarwun Hydrogen Calcination Pilot Plant will trial reducing the carbon intensity of alumina production at our Yarwun Alumina Refinery in Queensland, Australia.

Decarbonising our operations

Providing the materials the world needs means we have an impact on the environment. We recognise the responsibility we are entrusted with, and see ourselves as long-term stewards of natural resources and the ecosystems they support.

Our goal is to reduce the emissions from our operations by 50% by 2030.

Climate change Progress update