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Rondo and Rio Tinto Begin Design Work on Yarwun Heat Storage

lite News Desk 1 min read

Rondo Energy and Rio Tinto have begun front-end engineering and design work on a proposed thermal energy storage installation, according to Rondo. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) said the planned location is Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery, near Gladstone in Queensland.

The technology uses electricity to heat a storage medium, with that heat subsequently used to generate steam, according to ARENA. The agency said alumina production requires an uninterrupted supply of steam at high temperatures, a requirement traditionally met by burning fossil fuels.

For Yarwun, ARENA’s proposed specifications put storage capacity at 360 MWh. The unit would have an electrical charging capacity of 78 MW and could discharge thermal energy at 30 MW. Rondo’s announcement described the planned installation as the largest thermal energy storage project in Australia.

ARENA said it expects the proposed project to cut carbon dioxide emissions at the refinery by approximately 67,000 tonnes annually. That figure is an estimate for the proposed installation, rather than a measured reduction.

Funding from ARENA is divided into stages, with A$3.6 million allocated to the engineering and design study. The agency said deployment funding of as much as A$38 million may become available after the study has been completed successfully.

A separate contingency provision allows for up to A$33.3 million in support, according to ARENA. Access to that funding is limited to specified circumstances, which include spending above budget and electricity costs.

Rio Tinto’s annual report for 2025 placed the Yarwun electric-steam demonstration at an earlier development stage. According to the report, pre-feasibility work was completed during 2025, and the project was advancing toward a feasibility study in 2026.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.

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