ASX-listed South32 will investigate steam electrification technologies to help decarbonise its Worsley Alumina refinery in Western Australia, supported by a A$4.4-million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

The prefeasibility study, funded under ARENA’s A$400-million Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS), will assess four investment options aimed at partially electrifying steam production, a major source of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in alumina refining.

About 70% of GHG emissions in the alumina sector stem from steam production, currently powered by fossil fuels such as coal and gas.

The options that South32 will explore include electric boilers, which generate steam directly using an electrode, and mechanical vapour recompression, which involves capturing low-pressure waste vapour from the refining process for recompression to create pressurised steam for reuse. These technologies have the potential to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs and GHG emissions, through the use of renewable electricity.

“Funding from ARENA will help South32 investigate innovative electrification options for steam generation that enable the use of renewable energy,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller. 

“Meeting Australia’s emissions reduction targets will require businesses in the most energy-intensive industries to incorporate renewables in their operations.”

South32 COO Vanessa Torres said the study builds on decarbonisation work already under way at Worsley, where the company aims to halve operational GHG emissions by 2035 from a 2021 financial year baseline, and reach net zero across all scopes by 2050.

“Electrification of the steam generation process at Worsley Alumina’s refinery has the potential to further reduce the operation’s GHG emissions and we look forward to starting work on the project,” Torres said.

ARENA has been actively supporting the aluminium value chain’s transition to low-carbon technologies since 2021, including backing electric calcination trials at Alcoa and hydrogen calcination at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun refinery.

A second round of ITS funding is now open, with A$70-million available for projects targeting emissions reductions in industrial sectors. Round 2 will remain open until mid-June.