The Morrison Government has promised to contribute $8.6 million to a project that will help bring down emissions from alumina production at Alcoa Pinjarra.
Ahead of the 2022 Federal Election, the Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), will fund part of Alcoa Australia’s $19.7 million project.
It will look at the feasibility of replacing gas-fired calcination with electric calciners powered by renewable energy.
Member for Canning Andrew Hastie said this investment was a vote of confidence in the Peel Region and heavy industry by the Morrison Government – securing jobs and supporting business to commercialise new technologies.
“As the Member for Canning, I know how vital the Alcoa alumina refinery is to our region and working families. I am committed to securing its future," he said.
More than 1300 Western Australians work at Alcoa’s Pinjarra refinery, and more than 5,500 in the alumina refining sector in the state’s South West.
The project will be delivered in two stages.
The first stage will involve a commercialisation study and a small scale pilot to test the viability of electrifying the calcination process and will run until the end of 2023.
The second stage involves the construction of a larger 1.4MW electric calciner pilot at Alcoa’s Pinjarra refinery that will begin in 2024.
If the project is proven feasible, it will generate up to 25 jobs for the region.
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