Australian Government pledges $1.24 Billion in Green Aluminium Push

Australia's Labor Government pledged A$2 Billion ($1.24 Billion) in production credits on Monday to support the four Australian aluminium smelters to switch to renewable energy before 2036.

Aluminum is one of non-ferrous metals that is the most polluting to produce, since its production is mainly powered by coal. The term "green aluminium" is used to describe metals produced by solar, wind and hydropower.

Rio Tinto and Alcoa are the two companies that run four of the country's aluminium smelters.

In his latest campaign pitch, Anthony Albanese said that the government would provide support to smelters for every metric tonne of low-carbon aluminum they produced. His centre-left coalition has made renewable energy one of the major themes in preparation for a national vote that must be called before May.

The Australian government aims to have 82% of its power supplied by renewable sources by 2030. However, it is still far short of this target at 40%, despite pledging more than A$40billion to fund new wind, battery and solar projects.

Albanese stated in a press release that he wanted more Australian workers to produce goods here.

"We have all the ingredients for a world leading metals industry right here - the best solar and winds resources, the essential minerals and facilities as well as highly-skilled workforce."

The Australian Aluminium Council announced that it was seeking credits to be applied towards the production of aluminium, the sixth largest producer of metals in the world. This is done to help attract private capital, and keep the industry competitive despite rising costs and regulatory delays.

Marghanita Johnston, CEO of the Council, said that these new credits for aluminium production should help to provide some transitional support as Australia's energy systems and infrastructure develop and prices return to competitive levels.

(source: Reuters)