ELYSIS progresses on the commercialization of its technology by issuing its first smelter technology licence

MONTRÉAL — Progress towards the large-scale implementation of the ELYSIS(TM) technology has achieved a new milestone with the granting to Rio Tinto of the first smelter technology licence for a 100 kiloamperes (kA) demonstration plant with 10 pots that will be built at its Arvida site in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Québec. This major investment highlights the scale-up potential of the inert anode smelter technology. ELYSIS says that this technology eliminates all direct greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the traditional smelting process, producing oxygen instead.

The granting of a first smelter licence to an aluminium producer builds on the successes of the tests conducted at the Industrial Research and Development Centre in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Concurrently, ELYSIS has begun commissioning its industrial prototype cells (450 kA) at the end of an existing potline at Rio Tinto’s Alma smelter, with the start-up sequence set to begin in 2024.

This first smelter technology licence will enable ELYSIS to advance the technology demonstration on a larger scale, representing a first milestone towards its commercialization. To achieve this, ELYSIS has expanded its team, now reaching 200 employees. In 2022 and 2023, ELYSIS hired 80 talented new team members with 70 of the new hires based in Québec.

As part of the development of new key equipment for the operation of the inert anode smelter technology, ELYSIS has entered into a series of long-term partnerships with local suppliers in Quebec. These partnerships are essential to the deployment of the ELYSIS(TM) technology.

The technology at a glance

• The ELYSIS(TM) technology meets the global demand for products with a low carbon footprint, ranging from mobile phones to cars, planes, and building materials.
• The new process will reduce operating costs of aluminium smelters while increasing production capacity. It could be used in both new and existing aluminium smelters.
• ELYSIS will also license next-generation electrode technology, with inert anodes reportedly lasting more than 30 times longer than traditional carbon-based anodes.
• ELYSIS is a partnership of two major aluminium industry companies, Alcoa and Rio Tinto, developing a new technology, known as inert anode.

“Developing such a revolutionary technology for the aluminium industry is quite a journey. It takes time, and it means adapting to the challenges of perfecting a whole new process and technology. The achievement of this new milestone marks an important turning point in the advancement of the ELYSISTM technology, demonstrating continued progress from what was a dream to a transformative force for the aluminum industry. By granting a first inert anode technology licence to Rio Tinto, ELYSIS is one step closer to its full technology scale-up,” said Vincent Christ, ELYSIS CEO.