Bill Gates-backed solar startup is bringing carbon-free energy to the mining industry

In an attempt to bring carbon-free energy into the heavy industry, Heliogen announced on Wednesday that mining giant Rio Tinto plans to deploy the startup’s innovative solar technology at the largest open-pit mine in California, located in Boron. Heliogen says this will be the first concentrated solar technology used to power a mine in the United States, and perhaps in the world.

Heliogen will use artificial intelligence and a set of 40,000 computer-controlled mirrors to harness the power of the sun, almost like an intelligent magnifying glass. Rio Tinto’s first system will be about 100 footfall fields in size, Heliogen told CNN Business.

The announcement does Rio Tinto (RIVER), the second largest mining company in the world, Heliogen’s first announced customer. The partnership is a key test of whether Heliogen’s technology can really replace the fossil fuels used to power large-scale industrial operations. And that can help a lot in combating the climate crisis.

“It is not that this technology was not possible before – just that it was not economical,” Heliogen’s founder and CEO, Bill Gross, told CNN Business by email. “Heliogen’s discovery is to make concentrated solar energy work after sunset AND, at the same time, be more economical compared to fossil fuel.”

The companies say the partnership will allow Rio Tinto to reduce its carbon footprint – while reducing its energy costs.

“Our goal is to provide Rio Tinto with completely carbon-free energy for less than the cost of zero-emission fossil fuels,” said Gross.

Bringing carbon-free energy to a nearly century-old mine

Heliogen, backed by Gates and biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, went stealthy in late 2019 by announcing a solar advance. For the first time, concentrated solar energy can be used to replace fossil fuels used in industrial processes. Last year, Time magazine included Heliogen’s HelioHeat technology on its list of the Best Inventions of 2020.

Now, Heliogen is teaming up with Rio Tinto to put this technology to use.

Rio Tinto plans to use the Heliogen platform to help power the California nearly 100-year-old site, which extracts borates, a mineral used in fertilizers, heat-resistant glass for smartphones and laptops, solar panels and wind turbines. The mine, located in Boro, provides almost half of the world’s demand for refined borates, according to Rio Tinto.

Typically, the facility relies on fossil fuels to produce steam. But the partnership requires Heliogen’s AI-powered mirror field to generate 35,000 pounds an hour of carbon-free steam to help power the site.

The companies said the technology could reduce Boron’s carbon emissions by about 7% – which is tantamount to taking more than 5,000 cars off the road. And the Heliogen system will also capture and store clean energy to power the mine’s nighttime operations.

If the initial installation of Heliogen is successful, Rio Tinto can expand the use of the technology to reduce the site’s carbon footprint by up to 24%.

Rio Tinto is spending $ 1 billion to reduce its carbon footprint

The companies said they will soon start planning in detail and obtaining government licenses. The goal is to launch the Heliogen platform next year – and explore its implementation in other Rio Tinto units around the world.

The Anglo-Australian multinational expects Heliogen to help it reduce its goal of reducing emissions by almost half by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. Last year, the process heat, supplied by Heliogen, was responsible for 14% of the direct and indirect emissions of Rio Tinto, known as Scope 1 and 2.

“This partnership with Heliogen has the potential to significantly reduce our emissions in Boron using this innovative solar technology and we look forward to exploring opportunities in our global portfolio,” said Rio Tinto CEO, Jakob Stausholm, in a statement.

Rio Tinto has pledged to spend about $ 1 billion on emission reduction programs by 2025. The partnership with Heliogen represents a multimillion dollar investment by Rio Tinto, Gross said, although the exact cost has yet to be determined.

Using AI to combat the climate crisis

Concentrated solar energy is not new.

But Heliogen says he takes it a step further, using AI and other sophisticated technology to align thousands of mirrors at a single point, creating much higher temperatures than were possible in the past.

Now, Heliogen must convince industrial companies like Rio Tinto to abandon fossil fuels for the sun.

“Heliogen is being bombarded with customers from around the world,” said Gross, “from all industries, from metals to cement, utilities and hydrogen production.”