Apple has inked an agreement to buy and use aluminum made without any direct carbon dioxide emissions, Reuters reported. Alcoa and Rio Tinto joint venture Elysis produced the first commercial batch of the aluminium, using a breakthrough aluminium smelting technology which they claim is 'carbon free'. They will now expand the process to a commercial scale.
Apple helped push the innovation by partnering with both aluminium companies and the governments of Canada and Quebec, to collectively invest a total of USD 144 million into future research and development. Elysis will make its first shipment to Apple of the metal, produced at the Alcoa Technical Center (ATC) in Pittsburgh, this month.
Aluminum is carbon-intensive to produce. The smelting process involves passing electrical current through a large block of carbon called an anode, which burns off during the process and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The Alcoa-Rio joint venture's technology uses a ceramic anode to make aluminum and emits only oxygen, eliminating direct greenhouse gas emissions from the smelting process.
