ELYSIS announced on Nov. 13 a major milestone in the development of carbon-free aluminum production with the successful start-up of its 450-kiloampere (kA) inert anode cell at the Rio Tinto smelter in Alma, Quebec.  

This marks the first time ELYSIS, a joint venture between Alcoa Corporation and Rio Tinto, has operated its inert anode technology at a commercial-scale amperage typical of modern smelters.  

“We’re really proud to announce this new breakthrough,” said François Perras, ELYSIS president and CEO, in an interview with CIM Magazine.  

The company first achieved aluminum production using a 100-kA inert anode cell back in November 2021. Since then, “we have been iterating on that size, [and] we’re now operating a commercial-size pot, which shows that the technology can be scaled up,” said Perras. “These are major milestones, and it really puts us in front of the race to bring this new technology to market in a significant fashion.”  

ELYSIS’ inert anode technology enables high-amperage aluminum production without direct carbon emissions from the smelting process. This replaces traditional carbon anodes with inert anodes made from proprietary materials that emit oxygen instead of carbon dioxide.  

With the start-up of the first 450 kA cell now complete, the next step, said Perras, is a multi-year, multi-cell testing program designed to prove the resilience, efficiency and durability of the technology under full industrial conditions.   

Once validated, the technology is intended for both retrofits of existing smelters and new facility construction.  

“Our internal goal is to bring the technology to maturity by the end of the decade and then work with our strategic investors, Alcoa and Rio Tinto, to see how we can deploy this in the infrastructure across the world to be able to have an impact,” said Perras.  

Challenges and impacts  

The path to this commercial-scale milestone has taken ELYSIS through several years of research, development and rigorous testing.  

“When we embarked on bringing disruptive technology to maturity, it [was] a roller coaster,” said Perras. “The technology isn’t just about changing the anode per se—the whole smelting process changes in our process. The challenge is bringing all these elements together, so they interact properly and deliver the best efficiency possible. It’s not a siloed solution—it’s a complex environment that has changed and adjusted to be optimal in operation.”  

Despite the complexity, the potential impact of the process on the aluminum industry could be significant, according to ELYSIS. By eliminating direct carbon emissions, the process could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada by 6.5 million tonnes per year—equivalent to taking 1.8 million cars off the road.   

The inert anode process also has additional operational advantages, added Perras. It eliminates exposure to carbon pricing, the inert anodes last more than 30 times longer than traditional components, and production can increase on the same footprint. The technology also improves overall efficiency, cutting operating costs by an estimated 15 per cent, while enhancing health and workplace safety.  

“[These are] definitely all very good advantages to support the mass deployment of this technology by the end of the decade,” he said.