Energy Procurement, Energy Storage, GHG Emissions  -  February 16, 2022

Rio Tinto Receives Funding from DOE for Carbon Storage

A Rio Tinto-led team received $2.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to explore carbon storage potential at the Tamarack nickel joint venture in central Minnesota.

Rio Tinto assembled a team of climate innovation and research leaders to explore new approaches in carbon mineralization technology as a way to safely and permanently store carbon as rock. The company will contribute $4 million in funding for the three-year project, in addition to the funding from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E Innovation Challenge.

Carbon mineralization uses natural chemical reactions to convert captured carbon dioxide (CO2) into rock and store it underground. It has the potential to be an important technology in meeting global climate goals and is now being used at large scale by carbon mineralization company Carbfix in Iceland.

Rio Tinto’s technical experts will work with partners including the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which has demonstrated carbon mineralization technology in Washington state; Columbia University; Carbfix; and Advantek Waste Management Services. Talon Metals, the majority owner and operator of the Tamarack Nickel Project and Rio Tinto’s joint venture partner, is contributing ore body knowledge and land access for scientific fieldwork.

“Our aim is to deliver carbon storage solutions that can help to meet climate targets by reducing and offsetting emissions from our operations and in other industries, and to explore the emerging commercial opportunities carbon storage may offer at Rio Tinto sites around the world,” Rio Tinto Chief Scientist Dr. Nigel Steward said in a statement. “We will be working with leading researchers and innovators to prove the carbon storage potential of the Tamarack site and develop mineralization solutions that can be used not just here but at other similar locations.”

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