For green aluminium, steady supply of renewable energy is a mandate: AU aluminium manufacturing firm affirms in a govt statement

Tomago Aluminium, Australia's largest energy user, has asserted that it stands earmarked to shifting mostly to running on renewable energy by 2035. However, to achieve the benchmark, certainty of supply is of optimum importance.

Image Source: Tomago Aluminium

In Tomago's submission to the government's consultation document on green metals prospects for Australia, the company has conceded its role in the vigorously growing industry.

The enterprise presently manufactures about 550,000 tonnes of aluminium, which demands a power supply of 950 megawatts 24x7, or about 12 per cent of the state's power.

However, the plant's outcome is set to increase in the near future `as Bloomberg NEF Research estimates a twelve-fold hype in the aluminium market to meet Net Zero by 2050.

"However, the challenge is to ensure that sufficient renewable energy and transmission infrastructure at an internationally competitive price is available in this time frame. This is far from clear," the company's submission discloses.

Tomago Aluminium's general manager, Jerome Dozol, articulated that the company strongly advocates for the federal government's green metals and 'Future Made in Australia' policies.

"Low-cost, firm, clean energy is a key driver to sustaining primary aluminium production in the future," he declared, adding, "Tomago's Repowering project is the opportunity to drive large-scale decarbonisation of the Australian energy system. We're committed to working closely with both federal and NSW governments to make this necessary step happen as it is time-sensitive for Tomago."

The international market is overpowered by low-cost Middle East and China production, fueled by a plenitude of low-cost fossil fuel power sources. This, eventually, has ensued in lower capital costs, which have then boasted fast expansions in recent times.

For Tomago to evolve into a green metal manufacturer and play a crucial role in the government's Future Made in Australia plan, the company said that an emphasis on retaining and upgrading existing structures.

The submission has recognised three vital matters:

1. The requirement is to stand firm for low-cost as well as renewable energy sources to retrieve long-term competitive benefits in energy costs once the capital base of the new energy system is depreciated.
2. A foreseeable, streamlined consent strategy for the whole value chain that prioritises the development of renewable energy generation assets with the supporting transmission infrastructure.
3. Capital asset support via industry-led tax and grant incentives to support investment in newer production technologies in the aluminium industry, noting the long-term nature of the technology development required to pilot and prove these new technologies.

If these three prerequisites are met, the company affirms it could persist as an integral part of A Future Made in Australia and remain to be a major driver of its regional economy.

Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic, oversees the Future Made in Australia Fund and the National Reconstruction Fund.

He told said recently that the global car, construction, and energy endeavours would be pivotal for future demand of green aluminium along with green steel.

"The Superpower Institute reckons a strong green iron industry could be worth as much as $295 billion per annum, triple the value of our current iron ore. Another estimate suggests green aluminium could be worth an extra $60 billion to Australia over coming years," he said.

But unless government's moved quickly to get the energy side of the equation right, Australia's opportunity to capitalise on green metals would be lost.

"For the sake of the 1000 workers (at Tomago Aluminium) and the 5,000 indirect jobs the plant supports, we need a plan for the future of this industry," he said.