Australia-based miner Rio Tinto has announced that it will invest $10 million in partnership with China-based Baowu Steel Group in low-carbon steelmaking projects and research over the next two years. The investment aims to develop and implement new methods to reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental performance across the steel value chain.
Rio Tinto’s investment will fund the joint establishment of a Low Carbon Raw Materials Preparation R&D Centre, which will initially prioritize the development of lower carbon ore preparation processes. The investment will also support work on carbon dioxide utilization and conversion at the China Baowu Low Carbon Metallurgical Innovation Centre, which is an open platform for advancing metallurgical technologies to support the low-carbon transformation of the steel industry.
“This investment with our partners at China Baowu is an important step in our climate partnership. We have been able to identify research and development projects which have the potential to significantly reduce the carbon emissions associated with existing steelmaking processes, as well as developing technologies for the future of steelmaking to support the transition to a low-carbon economy,” Jean-Sebastien Jacques, Rio Tinto’s chief executive, said.