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    Rio Tinto–Prysmian low‑carbon aluminium rod: implications for cable designers

    March 12, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Rio Tinto–Prysmian low‑carbon aluminium rod: implications for cable designers

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    Rio Tinto has completed an industrial trial with Prysmian to produce low‑carbon aluminium rod for power cables, blending metal from its hydro-powered Alma smelter in Quebec with ELYSIS inert-anode technology that eliminates direct smelting greenhouse gas emissions and generates oxygen. The trial sits within a five-year supply agreement signed in October 2023 to roll out lower‑carbon aluminium cable solutions for energy transmission and data centres. CRU forecasts data centres will grow from about 7% of North American cable demand in 2025 at roughly 17% CAGR to 2030, with aluminium gaining share for campus power distribution.

    Technical Brief

    • Hydro-powered Alma smelter in Quebec supplies low-carbon primary metal as a key blend component.
    • ELYSIS inert-anode cells remove direct process CO₂ from smelting, releasing oxygen at the anode instead.
    • Five-year Rio Tinto–Prysmian supply agreement, signed October 2023, underpins commercial scale-up and qualification testing.
    • Joint R&D scope spans energy transmission and data centre cabling, not just single product grades.
    • Data centres accounted for ~7% of North American cable demand in 2025, per CRU.
    • CRU projects ~17% compound annual growth in data centre cable demand from 2026 to 2030.
    • Rio Tinto’s separate partnership with CATL targets mine electrification, battery recycling and circular use of key minerals.

    Our Take

    In our Materials coverage, aluminium stories linked to North American data centre build-out are still relatively rare compared with battery metals, so Rio Tinto’s low‑carbon rod from the Alma smelter positions it early in a cable segment CRU expects to grow at a 17% CAGR between 2026 and 2030.

    With data centres projected to account for 7% of total North American cable demand by 2025, Prysmian’s access to low‑carbon aluminium feedstock could give it a differentiator for hyperscale and AI‑focused builds where power-use and Scope 3 emissions are starting to influence procurement specs.

    The presence of CATL and Enami in the same fact set underlines how decarbonised aluminium is now being discussed alongside battery and copper supply in our database, signalling that cable-grade aluminium is increasingly treated as strategic infrastructure material rather than a generic bulk metal.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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