GravitHy enters into iron ore agreement with Rio Tinto

As part of the collaboration, Rio Tinto will supply high-grade direct reduction iron ore pellets from its Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) operations to GravitHy’s planned operation, and manage the sales and marketing of the ‘ultra-low carbon’ Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) GravitHy produces.

GravitHy's proposed 2Mt/yr iron production facility at Fos-sur-Mer, France, is planned to be commissioned in 2028. The facility, which is located next to a deep seaport, aims to feature ultra-low carbon hydrogen production infrastructure, powered by existing grid-connected nuclear power, to process direct reduction pellets into HBI. This process has the potential to reduce ironmaking-related CO2 emissions by more than 90%, says the company.

José Noldin, CEO of GravitHy said; ‘‘We are pioneering a worldwide ultra-low carbon iron project, designated by the French government as an ‘Industrial Project of Major National Interest.’ By combining our business ambitions, agility, and technological capabilities with Rio Tinto’s global leadership in mining and steel decarbonization, we are ensuring a resilient sourcing and go-to-market strategy to help accelerate our company’s growth while driving transformative change within the global steel industry.’’

Simon Farry, head of steel decarbonization at Rio Tinto, added; ‘‘This collaboration is aligned with Rio Tinto’s steel decarbonization strategy to accelerate the development of low-carbon Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking with high-grade iron ore as feedstock. This will allow us to both reduce our Scope 3 emissions and create valuable decarbonized pathways for our high-grade iron ore. We are excited to support GravitHy’s project and expand our understanding of the emerging green iron and steel market.’’