As an international miner and manufacturer of manganese, titanium, ferronickel and lithium, Eramet is at the forefront of industry decarbonization by providing the raw materials necessary for the energy transition.

By developing low-carbon activities and implementing measures to decrease its emissions, the group reduced its Scope 1 and 2 carbon intensity by 39% compared to 2018 and has now decided to speed up the process by setting a new 15-year target to reduce total Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2035 (compared with 2019 levels) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Beyond energy efficiency and the use of decarbonized energy sources, the company has set a priority to use bioreductants in manganese alloy production to replace fossil carbon – with the challenge to access sustainably managed bioreducers compatible with its process constraints – and the development of CCS where cost remains an obstacle. To overcome the technological and cost barriers of both solutions, the company established a set of intelligent collaborations on disruptive innovation with other industrial sectors that bring mutual benefits: For CCS, a partnership with Air Liquide is under way for a multi-year contract to build a pilot CO2 capture installation from the combusted gas of two manganese alloy-producing furnaces. Air Liquide brings the technology to firstly concentrate the CO2 up to 60% after adaptation to the process in the pilot, and later reach over 99% in the industrial process by adding a cryogenic step. In the industrial installation, the liquefied CO2 will be sent to storage in a profound geological layer. – For bioreductants, the company needed to establish the knowledge to allow production of biocarbons with characteristics suited to production of manganese alloys in its current industrial furnaces.

Eramet carried out R&D in cooperation with research institutes and academia in Norway and launched a demonstration project in 2021 to test the substitution of fossil fuels by a significant amount of biocarbon in industrial operations. Cooperation with other industrial partners has led to equipment and process pilots, paving the way for demonstration plants (provided funding will be obtained).