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Released January 18, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Aluminum smelters throughout the U.S. and Canada have been busy with projects such as modernizations, expansions and equipment additions. Industrial Info is tracking more than $1.5 billion worth of capital and maintenance projects at aluminum smelters throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Many of the smelter projects have a partial environmental slant, involving different forms of renewable energy, emissions reduction or recycling. Metals giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England), for example, is nearing completion of a pilot-scale project that involves installing inert anode cells at the end of a potline at its mill in Alma, Quebec. The inert anode, unlike a traditional carbon-based one, eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions from the smelting process, releasing oxygen instead. The pilot project is intended to show the technology's efficacy at a larger scale. The company developing the anode technology, ELYSIS (Montreal, Quebec), hopes to have the product ready for commercial installation in about two years, where it is intended primarily for smelters employing renewable energy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here to view the project report.
Aluminerie Alouette Incorporated (Sept Iles, Quebec), which is partially owned by Rio Tinto, is sticking with more a traditional anode project by performing rebuilds and repairs to four natural gas anode baking ovens, a process that occurs every 30 years. The rebuilt ovens are expected to begin helping improve furnace operations in the coming months. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Rio Tinto last year began construction of a recycling center at its 240,000-ton-per-year smelter in Jonquiere, Quebec. The project includes adding a remelting furnace and an automated scrap-loading system to support the new 30,000-ton-per-year recycling center. The project is expected to be completed later this year or in early 2025 and will allow Rio Tinto to offer lower-carbon products into the automotive, construction and packaging markets. Subscribers can click here for more details.
Other expansion and restart projects are in the works as well. In Goose Creek, South Carolina, Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) (Chicago, Illinois) is restarting an existing potline, bringing it from 50% capacity to 100%, allowing the smelter to leap from 115,000 tons per year of production to 170,000 tons. The project is expected to wrap up this summer. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
One of the largest active expansion projects is expected to kick off in a little more than a year's time. Rio Tinto will add 96 AP60 pots to its Jonquiere smelter, where the recycling center is being built, increasing the smelter's capacity by about 160,000 tons per year, which is enough for 400,000 electric cars, according to the company. Construction is expected to last about two and a half years, putting the project on track for completion in the first half of 2026 and ramping up to full capacity by the end of the year. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here to view the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Many of the smelter projects have a partial environmental slant, involving different forms of renewable energy, emissions reduction or recycling. Metals giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England), for example, is nearing completion of a pilot-scale project that involves installing inert anode cells at the end of a potline at its mill in Alma, Quebec. The inert anode, unlike a traditional carbon-based one, eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions from the smelting process, releasing oxygen instead. The pilot project is intended to show the technology's efficacy at a larger scale. The company developing the anode technology, ELYSIS (Montreal, Quebec), hopes to have the product ready for commercial installation in about two years, where it is intended primarily for smelters employing renewable energy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here to view the project report.
Aluminerie Alouette Incorporated (Sept Iles, Quebec), which is partially owned by Rio Tinto, is sticking with more a traditional anode project by performing rebuilds and repairs to four natural gas anode baking ovens, a process that occurs every 30 years. The rebuilt ovens are expected to begin helping improve furnace operations in the coming months. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Rio Tinto last year began construction of a recycling center at its 240,000-ton-per-year smelter in Jonquiere, Quebec. The project includes adding a remelting furnace and an automated scrap-loading system to support the new 30,000-ton-per-year recycling center. The project is expected to be completed later this year or in early 2025 and will allow Rio Tinto to offer lower-carbon products into the automotive, construction and packaging markets. Subscribers can click here for more details.
Other expansion and restart projects are in the works as well. In Goose Creek, South Carolina, Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) (Chicago, Illinois) is restarting an existing potline, bringing it from 50% capacity to 100%, allowing the smelter to leap from 115,000 tons per year of production to 170,000 tons. The project is expected to wrap up this summer. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
One of the largest active expansion projects is expected to kick off in a little more than a year's time. Rio Tinto will add 96 AP60 pots to its Jonquiere smelter, where the recycling center is being built, increasing the smelter's capacity by about 160,000 tons per year, which is enough for 400,000 electric cars, according to the company. Construction is expected to last about two and a half years, putting the project on track for completion in the first half of 2026 and ramping up to full capacity by the end of the year. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here to view the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
