Rio Tinto has partnered with H2 Green Steel to supply iron ore pellets from its Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) operations to establish the large scale production of green steel.
Under the agreement, Rio will purchase and on-sell part of the surplus of low carbon hot briquetted iron produced by H2.
The pellets from IOC will make up a significant amount of iron ore supply to H2’s flagship plant in Boden, Sweden, which is set to become one of the world’s largest producers of low carbon iron and steel.
“This is a significant milestone for our project in Boden,” H2 chief executive officer Henrik Henriksson said.
“Not only by securing a supply of the high-quality iron ore needed for our green steel production, but also because we have a buyer for a portion of the HBI we initially expect to produce.
“Rio Tinto is a global leader in the mining industry and we welcome its concrete actions to accelerate the decarbonisation of the steel industry.”
Rio Tinto head of steel decarbonisation Simon Farry said the partnership would help Rio in supporting the decarbonisation of steel and iron making.
“Our supply of high-grade iron ore pellets will support the acceleration of H2 Green Steel’s project, and on-selling their low-carbon HBI will enable us to gain a deeper understanding of the future needs of our customers and end users in the emerging green iron and steel market,” he said.
The plant is expected to begin operations in 2025.