Rio Tinto will install carbon free aluminium smelting cells at its Arvida smelter in Quebec, Canada, using the first technology licence issued by the ELYSIS joint venture. This investment will support the ongoing development of the breakthrough ELYSIS technology and allow Rio Tinto to build expertise in its installation and operation. Rio Tinto will design, engineer, and build a demonstration plant equipped with ten pots operating at 100 kiloamperes (kA).

The plant will be owned by a new joint venture in which Rio Tinto and the Government of Quebec, through Investissement Quebec, will invest $179 million (CAD 235 million) and $106 million (CAD 140 million) respectively as equity partners, for a total investment of USD 285 million (CAD 375 million). This facility will use the same technology that has been successfully demonstrated at the ELYSIS Industrial Research and Development Center in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. This pilot operation will be a critical step in Rio Tinto's learning journey towards full scale industrialization of the ELYSIS technology.

The plant will have the capacity to produce up to 2,500 tonnes of commercial quality aluminium per year without direct greenhouse gas emissions, with first production targeted by 2027. It will be located adjacent to the existing Arvida smelter, allowing the use of the current alumina supply and casting facilities.