By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-20 02:51:26 | Updated at 2025-01-20 07:54:49
5 hours ago
Australia will reward power-guzzling aluminium smelters that use renewable electricity instead of coal, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday as he unveiled a US$1.2 billion green metals plan.
Australia is the world’s sixth-largest producer of the in-demand metal, according to officials, which is used in everything from aeroplane parts to soft-drink cans.
Aluminium ore is refined in hulking smelters that suck up almost 10 per cent of Australia’s electricity, analysts said, a process that has long relied on polluting coal-fired power.
Production credits worth A$2 billion (US$1.2 billion) have been earmarked for companies that instead produce “green” aluminium using renewable electricity, Albanese said.
“Increasingly the world is looking to import clean, reliable metals like Australian-made aluminium,” he said.
“Which represents a massive opportunity for growth in a decarbonising global economy.”
Companies will be able to claim a to-be-determined amount for every tonne of “clean” aluminium they produce over the next 10 years.
