Capral moves to electric furnace at Bremer Park to cut emissions and boost efficiency

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Capral Aluminium is phasing out a decades-old gas furnace at its Queensland facility, replacing it with a fully electric system aimed at improving both efficiency and emissions performance.

The upgrade will take place at the Bremer Park extrusion site, where a 40-year-old gas-fired log furnace is being swapped out for an electrically heated convection furnace. The system will also include induction heating and waste heat recovery, which together are expected to significantly change how the plant operates.

One of the bigger shifts is energy efficiency. The new setup is projected to lift efficiency from around 20 per cent to over 90 per cent, while also cutting Scope 1 emissions.

The project has received AUD 3.45 million (USD 2.32 million) in support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which is backing industrial decarbonisation efforts.

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Capral’s extrusion business manager Richard Axe said, “Moving from gas to an electric system allows us to reduce emissions, lower fuel costs and improve reliability and output at the same time.”

In terms of impact, the company expects the new furnace to cut emissions by about 973 tonnes of CO2-e annually, which is roughly 9 per cent of its total Scope 1 emissions.

Beyond emissions, the change is also about consistency. Electric systems tend to offer better process control, which could improve output quality while reducing maintenance needs over time.

Capral is also using this as a test case. With several furnaces across its network nearing end-of-life over the next decade, the Bremer Park installation is likely to influence how future upgrades are handled.

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CEO Tony Dragicevich pointed to the importance of external support in making projects like this viable.

“Support from ARENA helps make projects like this possible,” he said. “It allows us to invest in new technology, reduce emissions and continue to strengthen our manufacturing capability.”

The furnace is expected to be delivered within the next 12 months, with commissioning targeted for early 2027.

The project is part of ARENA’s National Industrial Transformation Program, which focuses on helping industries cut emissions by integrating cleaner technologies into existing operations — without compromising productivity.

If it works as planned, the Bremer Park upgrade could act as a reference point for how electrification can be applied in high-temperature aluminium processing going forward.

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