Investing funds to run plants on renewable energies, like hydrogen cells or zero-emission electricity, could reverse the fortunes of Australia’s struggling aluminum industry, a report by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) detailed.
According to the IEEFA, an exemplary change could be made to the aluminum smelter in Gladstone, Central Queensland, that’s owned by Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL). This would bode well for the entire heavy industry sector’s sustainability in the country, provided results re promising, said Clark Butler, the report’s author.
Butler explained how many projects in Australia and neighboring countries have been shut down in the past few years because of high power costs. By using low-cost resources to power the aluminum plant, the country’s heavy industries , of which aluminum is a part, could be become ustainable and possibly profitable.
He added that this strategy may be favorable since green aluminum has gained traction with Trafigura’s $500mn financing, as well as with Rusal’s EcoSoderberg patents and hydropower plants, and the EU’s medium- and long-term net zero carbon emission goals.