Rio Tinto, recently announced that it has teamed up with Imperial College London to launch the Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials. It’s a groundbreaking initiative to accelerate the development of sustainable techniques and technologies for delivering materials crucial for the energy transition.
Rio Tinto Boosts UK’s Clean Energy Ambitions
UK’s Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said,
“This investment is a major vote of confidence in the UK and will help us find new sustainable ways to deliver our renewable energy transition, supporting our ambition to become a clean energy superpower. Bringing together academic innovation and industry is vital to secure our vital supply of critical minerals, and create the economic growth our country needs.”
Coming to the funding, the mining giant has invested $150 million into the research center over the next decade, bringing top researchers and industry experts together in one platform. Its goal is to transform the way materials are sourced, processed, used, and recycled to make them more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.
The initiative aligns with the UK Government’s vision to establish the country as a “clean energy superpower,” as outlined in its recent Industrial Strategy Green Paper. The UK recognizes clean energy industries as a driving force for economic growth. This is significant particularly because renewable energy demands increased production of essential metals and minerals.
Thus, this initiative received “a major vote of confidence in the UK” from the UK Government.
Revenue of the leading mining companies headquartered in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2023
Source: Statista
Rio Tinto Chief Executive, Jakob Stausholm, said,
“Innovative partnerships between industry and academia are critical for the world to meet the deeply physical and complex challenge of the global energy transition. The Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials should become a global hub for investment and collaboration that will ultimately create the conditions for technological breakthroughs.”
He further added that innovation has been in Rio Tinto’s DNA since its founding in London over 150 years ago. He emphasized the company’s continuous efforts to improve how it delivers the materials essential for the world. The partnership with leading research institutions, spearheaded by Imperial College London, will play a key role in advancing this ambition.
What’s Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials’ Mission?
Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, said:
“The Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials will co-create and fund research programmes that empower diverse, interdisciplinary teams to deliver innovative and transformative solutions with environment, society, and governance at their core. This work will transform the ways we extract, process, and reuse critical resources to make them more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.
The clean energy industry, an engine of economic growth, is rightly at the heart of the government’s Industrial Strategy. Imperial – with its strong disciplinary foundations, highly collaborative culture, passion for innovation, and proven convening power – is well placed to support those ambitions.”
Delving deeper into the collaboration, The Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials will serve as a global hub for innovation, connecting Imperial College London with four leading academic institutions: the University of British Columbia, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the Australian National University. This network will address urgent challenges in the materials supply chain needed for the energy transition.
Professor Mary Ryan, Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial College, highlighted the critical role of innovation in achieving electrification goals. She explained that scaling up electrification requires rethinking the technology and economics behind the materials supply chain. The Centre will spearhead cutting-edge, industry-focused research while encouraging groundbreaking, systems-level approaches central to Imperial’s strategy.
The First Step: Overcoming the Copper Challenge
Professor Mary Ryan explained that the Centre’s initial focus will be to address the problem of global shortage of copper which is a significant obstacle to electrification. Copper is indispensable for electricity generation, storage, and transmission, yet more copper is needed in the next decade than was mined in the past century. Current supplies fall short of meeting this growing demand.
Research efforts will explore sustainable methods to extract and recycle copper. Key initiatives include:
- Extracting copper from fluids in the Earth’s crust.
- Utilizing microorganisms to harvest metals from rocks with minimal copper content.
- Optimizing waste recovery from old mining sites.
A strong emphasis will also be placed on ESG considerations, ensuring that solutions align with the interests and well-being of native communities.
This ambitious program aims to redefine how critical materials are sourced and utilized, paving the way for sustainable electrification and a greener future.
Unleashing Imperial College London’s Science for Humanity Strategy
Imperial College London’s Science for Humanity strategy makes it a pioneer in tackling climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. As part of this effort, the college is launching four Schools of Convergence Science, including one focused solely on sustainability, to create innovative research communities.
The Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials aligns with Imperial’s Transition to Zero Pollution (TZP) initiative. This program goes beyond zero carbon goals, targeting all forms of human-induced pollution.
TZP fosters interdisciplinary research, combining science, engineering, health, systems thinking, and policymaking to create comprehensive solutions.
Imperial College has expanded its global reach with the opening of Imperial Global USA in San Francisco. This new hub strengthens partnerships with governments, organizations, and collaborators worldwide, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and innovation.
Copper Outlook: IEA
Source: IEA
Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Metal Mining Strike Deal for Copper-Gold Project in Western Australia
In another recent announcement, Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) signed a Term Sheet for a joint venture to develop the Winu copper-gold project in Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. This collaboration marks a significant step toward unlocking the potential of Winu, a low-risk, long-life deposit discovered by Rio Tinto in 2017. Located near Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore operations, Winu holds substantial promise for expansion beyond its initial development.
Strategic Investment and Partnership Terms
Under the Term Sheet, SMM will acquire a 30% equity stake in the Winu project for $399 million. This includes a $195 million upfront payment and $204 million in deferred considerations tied to specific milestones and agreed adjustments. Rio Tinto will continue as the managing partner, overseeing project development and operations.
The agreement also includes exclusivity provisions for finalizing a binding Definitive Agreement by the first half of 2025. Additionally, Rio Tinto and SMM have entered a letter of intent to establish a broader strategic partnership, exploring collaboration in copper, base metals, and lithium.
Rio Tinto remains committed to working closely with the Nyangumarta Traditional Owners, advancing Project Agreement negotiations to ensure their involvement. The company also plans to submit an Environmental Review Document under the EPA Environmental Impact Assessment framework and complete a pre-feasibility study for Winu by 2025. This study will focus on an initial processing capacity of up to 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
As we have seen copper production remains a bright spot in Rio Tinto’s portfolio, with output forecast to reach 780-850kt in 2025.