Mining giant Rio Tinto made global headlines with its recent acquisition of Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion, making it one of the top three lithium miners in the world. This move aligns with Rio Tinto’s focus on the green economy, as lithium is a crucial component in electric car batteries. But Rio Tinto is going a step further with the launch of an inaugural climate and deep tech accelerator for transforming and decarbonizing mining operations. The miner teamed up with Founders Factory to invest $14.4 million in global pre-seed and seed stage start-ups over the next three years. Investment will target technologies related to safe mine operations, decarbonization, exploration processing and automation.
The mining industry flies under-the-radar in discussions on decarbonization, but it could account for as much as 5-7% of global CO2 emissions. It’s a tough-to-disrupt sector that faces unique challenges on the decarbonization journey: the sector must dramatically reduce emissions while increasing production to match growing demand for critical minerals needed for cleantech. Production of metals like copper and nickel will need to be ramped up by 200-300% to support the energy transition, meanwhile emissions from mining will need to be cut by 90% by 2050.
However, decarbonizing mining presents unique challenges, including high energy consumption and operating in remote, harsh environments.
Henry Lane Fox, CEO and Co-founder of Founders Factory, highlights three main challenges in decarbonizing mining: “First, there’s no established blueprint for decarbonizing the mining industry. Unlike other sectors, no one has figured out a comprehensive approach. The energy consumption in mining is enormous, and many mining sites are in remote, harsh environments. For example, some mining locations in Western Australia are so isolated, that it’s like operating on the moon. This makes it difficult to implement technologies that are resilient and long-lasting.”
Second, he adds, that while electrification is often seen as the future, mining has unique challenges. The heavy-duty vehicles used to transport massive materials aren’t yet capable of the necessary torque and power when electrified. Finally, the energy demands of digging and extraction are immense, and there is still no clear solution to meet these needs sustainably.
As one of the largest mining companies globally, Rio Tinto has a significant role to play – its transition to net zero could have a substantial impact on global emissions.
“It’s a massive challenge, but that’s what excites ambitious entrepreneurs. Many see this as a problem that can be solved over the next decade, and the potential for impact is enormous,” says Lane Fox.
To accelerate innovation in mining, Rio Tinto and Founders Factory have launched the Rio Tinto Mining Tech accelerator, focusing on early-stage companies at the pre-seed or seed stage. These are often startups with scientific breakthroughs, but they haven’t yet tested their solutions in the field.
“We look for a combination of innovative science and scrappy, commercially-minded founders. Our scope is broad, covering areas from precision mining technologies and metal extraction to logistics and supply chains,” says Lane Fox.
The accelerator helps startups quickly find product-market fit by conducting field trials and providing commercialization support. “We work closely with Rio Tinto to conduct field trials and help startups understand the business model and commercialization pathway. This allows them to get to market faster.” Lane Fox explains.
The inaugural cohort is made up of six early-stage startups that have been selected for their technologies related to copper, lithium and critical minerals.
These are:
● Endolith—increases copper recovery from low-grade ores in heap leaches by harnessing microbial communities, synthetic biology techniques, and a cloud-native platform (Denver, US)
● ProSpectral—next-generation computer vision for material detection and analysis (Cambridge, UK)
● BluumBio—enzyme database for removing pollutants from soil, air, and water (Berkeley, US)
● Sunchem— developing sustainable leaching and Nano Filter technologies for the precision separation of critical metals. (Berkeley, US)
● Vycarb—developing, deploying, and marketing tools that enable billion-tonne fully-measured carbon dioxide removal and storage (Brooklyn, US)
● Magmatic—building a library of metal-binding proteins, focusing initially on lithium recovery (Vienna, Austria)
These startups will receive seed capital, access to Rio Tinto for commercial opportunities and a four-month program of masterclasses and operational support. Rio Tinto provides advanced R&D facilities that help startups accelerate their development by sharing insights from previous projects. Rio can also act as a first customer, enabling startups to scale their solutions rapidly if proven viable.
“Rio Tinto has committed to achieving net zero by 2050, but they recognize they don’t have all the solutions in-house,” explains Lane Fox. “Their goal is to explore emerging science and technologies that can help them meet this target. Partnering with startups gives them access to cutting-edge innovations that can make their transition smoother and more efficient.”
For startups, especially those focused on science and technology, it’s critical to be adaptable; “in software,” says Lane Fox, “you often hear ‘fall in love with the problem, not the solution.’ However, in science-based startups, it’s about balancing deep technical knowledge with commercial practicality. It’s important to pair scientific founders with commercially experienced team members to navigate the complex path to scaling. Access to capital is crucial as these companies often require much larger amounts of funding compared to traditional startups.”
Lane Fox says advanced capabilities of AI have opened up a new world of possibilities: “AI is being used to explore synthetic routes for creating metals, potentially reducing the need for mining altogether. In our portfolio, Endolith is using biology to recover metals from mining waste, while another company, Sunken, is using chemistry to extract metals from wastewater. Precision drilling is also improving, allowing for smaller environmental footprints and reduced emissions.”
Automation is a big trend already playing out in mining; mining operations are becoming more automated and energy production on-site is increasingly moving toward less carbon-intensive methods. There is also a push towards electrification in logistics, though it’s still early days. As these technologies rapidly advance with the support of global industrial conglomerates like Rio Tinto, we’ll see more tangible change in the coming years.
