Oxygen is the only by-product of a new aluminum production process devised by Rio Tinto and Alcoa Corporation. The companies are forming Elysis, a joint venture to be headquartered in Montreal, Canada, and to further develop the new process with a technology package planned for sale beginning in 2024. In that country World’s first carbon-free aluminum. Source: CNW Group/Rio Tintoalone, use of the technology could eliminate the equivalent of 6.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually if fully implemented at existing aluminum smelters. This is roughly equivalent to taking nearly 1.8 million light-duty vehicles off the road.

Carbon dioxide is a major by-product of the conventional Hall–Héroult process for smelting aluminum, which involves dissolving alumina in molten cryolite, and electrolyzing the molten salt bath with carbon electrodes. The new process eliminates the carbon by use of proprietary materials instead.

The joint venture company will also sell proprietary anode and cathode materials, which will last more than 30 times longer than traditional components.