British-Australian iron ore producer Rio Tinto is investing $35 million (US$23 million) in Australian technology developer Calix to help it build a 30,000-ton-per-year direct reduction iron and hot briquetting demonstration plant in Kwinana.
Rio Tinto's investment package includes $8 million in cash, 10,000 tons of Pilbara iron ore and other in-kind support, Calix said today. According to the iron ore producer, as part of the deal, Rio Tinto will be able to sell and use the technology being developed by Calix on a non-exclusive basis.
Rio Tinto in the Pilbara will support the initial work at the demonstration plant. However, Kalix will use various grades and types of ore at this deposit, including a fine fraction of lower quality. Low-emission metallurgical projects typically use higher quality magnetite ore.
The zero-emission steel production technology (Zesty), developed by Calix, uses 54 kg of hydrogen to produce 1 ton of cast iron, the company announced on July 23. The Australian manufacturer Fortescue plans to use 800 kg of hydrogen to produce 1 ton of iron.
Calix plans to open its Zesty demonstration plant in 2028. In July, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency awarded Calix a grant of $45 million to support the project.
Calix will build a plant at the proposed site of Rio Tinto's BioIron experimental facility. Rio Tinto plans to produce 1 ton of iron per hour using biomass and iron ore at its facility. But the company is still working on the final BioIron design.
Rio Tinto has not announced a timeline for its BioIron project.
Rio Tinto is also working on other low-emission iron production projects. The company is part of the NeoSmelt consortium, which includes five major metal and energy producers, and which is developing a direct reduction pig iron plant with a capacity of 30,000 to 40,000 tons per year. According to Rio Tinto, NeoSmelt can additionally process iron produced by Calix.
