Sunlock, a prominent solar mounting manufacturer in Australia, is demonstrating its commitment to the renewable energy field by adopting a pioneering approach. The company has decided to transition all of its Sunlock C-Channel Solar Rails to LocAl® Green Lower Carbon Aluminium, sourced from Capral, a supplier known for its sustainable practices.

The introduction took place in November 2022. Capral offers LocAl®, a primary aluminium solution with fewer carbon emissions, in their range of locally made extruded aluminium products. This initiative aims to allow Australian businesses to use environmentally friendly and sustainable aluminium materials for their respective projects.

"Switching to LocAl Green, provides us with an opportunity to do our bit for the renewables sector. Sunlock's philosophy is built on embracing change, innovation and sustainability. The materials we manufacture and distribute provide the foundations for the renewable energy. The adoption of LocAl Green, means our mounting solutions aren't only the most efficient and effective, but now the most sustainable," said Mani Kaparakis, General Manager of SUNLOCK.

While much study has been conducted on the payback time, life cycle, and emission offset for solar panels, the effect of thousands of kilometres of aluminium solar rails across the rooftops of houses and businesses is often underestimated. It is predicted that this year alone, Australian solar panel installers will use more than 16,000 km of aluminium solar rail to secure panels to the roofs of houses and commercial structures, amounting to almost 20,000 tonnes of aluminium.

Aluminium is sometimes called the "Sustainable metal" due to its flexibility and recyclability. However, smelters' carbon emissions during primary aluminium manufacturing vary significantly; one might argue that some aluminium is far more sustainable than others.

The carbon emissions from primary aluminium production vary from less than 4kg CO2e/kg Al to more than 20kg CO2e/kg Al, depending on the energy sources employed. The current worldwide average carbon emission for primary aluminium is about 13.9 kg CO2e/kg Al*.

Considering how much solar rail Australia currently consumes through independent and large-scale rooftop solar installations - based on global averages, we could estimate more than 200,000 tonnes of CO2e associated with the solar rails installed on Australian rooftops this year - these are sobering numbers.

The excellent strength-to-weight ratio and innovative C-Channel Rail design of SUNLOCK enable wider spans even on difficult roofs. It's ideal for a wide range of constructions and climates, and it comes with a 25-year guarantee and certification to Australian standards. After establishing a reputation for excellence in their industry, the SUNLOCK team knows they must pay attention to the quality of their products.

"Strength, weight and quality are huge considerations for our commercial installers; It needs to perform in the way it has been engineered to perform. One thing which stood out for us whilst we were considering the switch to LocAl Green was the fact that we could drastically reduce our carbon emissions without any change to our product quality, performance or specifications," added Mani Kaparakis.

The solar sector may benefit significantly from LocAl® - Lower carbon aluminium, a product developed by Capral. Carbon emissions from LocAl® Green are much lower than the worldwide average for primary aluminium. LocAl® Green produces carbon emissions that are 8 kilogrammes fewer per kilogramme of aluminium produced than the current world average for primary aluminium manufacturing. Aluminum's strength, durability, corrosion resistance, and endurance for solar applications are all maintained, while emissions are reduced by using alternative energy sources throughout the smelting process.

The primary aluminium used in Capral's LocAl® Green product is derived solely from ASI-certified smelters. ASI is a worldwide non-profit organisation that promotes ethical aluminium procurement and manufacturing.

Capral Aluminium has achieved ASI Performance Standard V3 and Chain of Custody (CoC) V2 certification for the extrusion, storage, and distribution of aluminium goods and services. The certificates apply to all of Capral's 26 sites in Australia, which include mills, distribution hubs, and trade centres scattered throughout every state and territory. The LocAl® Green aluminium delivered to SUNLOCK is certified for chain of custody from the beginning of the aluminium value chain until it leaves Capral's door for delivery to SUNLOCK. This ensures the material was created and handled correctly, fulfilling high sustainability and social impact requirements from cradle to gate.

"In 2023 approximately 30% of the primary aluminium billet Capral uses in its eight local extrusion presses has a carbon content lower than eight kilograms CO2e per kilogram of aluminium. This is a strategic decision for Capral, driven by our desire to make lower Carbon aluminium accessible to Australian manufacturers like SUNLOCK. The market is looking for this product, and as Australia's largest extruder of aluminium, we are committed to making it available," added Luke Hawkins General Manager Industrial at Capral.

"Sunlock is an innovative and foreword thinking Australian business committed to doing the right thing; they are supplying a product critical to the Australian Commercial Solar market and are committed to meet their objectives in the renewable energy sector, but what's more, they are doing what they can to decarbonise their product and make their product more sustainable, its exceptional leadership by the SUNLOCK team and we commend them for taking this initiative," commented Craig Babatsikos, Capral Account Manager.