Rio Tinto produces low-carbon aluminum rod in partnership with Prysmian

Rio Tinto (ASX, LSE: RIO) recently teamed up with Prysmian on an industrial trial to produce low-carbon aluminum cables for use in the rapidly growing data centre market.

The partnership combines the leading-edge smelting capabilities of Rio Tinto and Prysmian’s cable technologies to help customers reduce the carbon footprint of critical IT infrastructure, the companies said in a statement.

The trial saw Rio Tinto manufacture aluminum rod using a blend of metal produced from its hydro-powered Alma smelter in Quebec, Canada, and those produced using its ELYSIS technology, which is designed to eliminate all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the smelting process and produce oxygen instead.

The industrial trial is part of a five-year supply agreement that Rio Tinto signed with the Italian cable giant in October 2023.

As part of that agreement, both companies have brought together their respective technologies and research and development capabilities to accelerate the introduction of lower-carbon aluminum solutions across a range of applications, including energy transmission and data centres.

Low-carbon aluminum

“This partnership with Prysmian demonstrates Rio Tinto’s ability to deliver innovative, low-carbon aluminum solutions tailored to our customers’ needs,” Matt Schicke, interim vice president of sales and marketing at Rio Tinto’s aluminum unit, stated in a press release.

“By combining our low-carbon aluminum portfolio with breakthrough technologies like ELYSIS, we are aiming to support the decarbonization of key growth markets, including the rapidly expanding data centre sector,” he added.

According to CRU research, the data centre sector represented approximately 7% of total North American cable demand in 2025 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 17% between 2026 and 2030.

During this growth period, aluminum is expected to account for an increasing share of the cable product mix, as operators seek more cost-efficient solutions for power distribution across data centre campuses and server rooms, the firm said.

Furthering its push into renewables, Rio Tinto announced earlier this month it has partnered with China’s CATL on the electrification of mining operations as well as battery material recycling and the circular development of key mineral resources.