Rio Tinto has forged a strategic alliance alongside Australian technology firm Calix, investing over $35 million to construct a Zero Emissions Steel Technology demonstration plant in Western Australia's Kwinana industrial precinct. The Zesty facility will employ electric heating & hydrogen reduction to produce up to 30,000 metric tons annually of low-emissions iron from Pilbara ores, addressing the steel industry's 8% contribution to global CO₂ emissions. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has paused its BioIron facility construction to refine furnace designs, though research continues alongside the University of Nottingham & Metso, exemplifying a diversified technology portfolio approach to decarbonisation challenges.