ARENA to support low-emissions tech under broader remit, backs Alcoa project

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) said this week it will be able to support “the next generation of energy technologies” after an expansion of its remit.

The agency’s mandate was broadened through changes to the ARENA legislation implemented by the Australian government on Wednesday.

The increased scope covers low-emissions technologies such as hydrogen, energy storage to back up renewable energy, low emissions aluminium and steel production, carbon capture and soil carbon.

“As technologies such as solar and wind mature, we must be able to move forward and support the next generation of clean energy technologies,” commented ARENA chief executive Darren Miller.

ARENA has a funding package of AUD 1.62 billion (USD 1.26bn/EUR 1.03bn), announced by the government last year, that includes guaranteed baseline funding of AUD 1.43 billion over the next 10 years. It has so far supported 586 projects with AUD 1.7 billion in grant funding.

ARENA says its current investment priorities focus on the grid integration of renewables, advancement of hydrogen and support for industry to lower emissions.

On Friday, it announced AUD 11.3 million in funding to aluminium producer Alcoa of Australia Ltd to explore the use of renewable energy in alumina refining.

The project will demonstrate Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) technology, which recompresses waste steam, powered by renewable energy.

The first stage of the project will look into the feasibility of integrating MVR into the refining process. Following a positive outcome, Alcoa intends to deploy a 3-MW MVR unit with renewable energy at its Wagerup refinery in Western Australia by the end of 2023.

According to Alcoa Corp (NYSE:AA), the MVR technology powered by renewable energy could cut the carbon footprint of an alumina refinery by 70%.

Alumina refining is an energy intensive process that turns bauxite into alumina through the use of high pressure steam. Alumina is then smelted into aluminum.

According to ARENA, the production of steam in boilers accounts for about 70% of the fossil fuels used in alumina refining.

Australia is a large exporter of bauxite and alumina.

(AUD 1 = USD 0.776/EUR 0.636)

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