tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/aluminium-1307/articlesAluminium – The Conversation2024-03-25T15:02:22Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250002024-03-25T15:02:22Z2024-03-25T15:02:22ZGhana’s decades-old ambition to build an integrated aluminium industry faces a new hurdle: the clean energy transition<p>It has been more than 60 years since Ghana’s first post-independence leader Kwame Nkrumah first <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Living_in_the_Shadow_of_the_Large_Dams/4IVSEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=volta+river+project+in+ghana&pg=PR3&printsec=frontcover">mooted</a> the idea that Ghana should produce aluminium from the country’s ample supply of bauxite.</p>
<p>Under the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40567076">Volta River Project</a>, Nkrumah’s vision was to construct a dam on Ghana’s Volta River to provide dedicated electricity to a newly built smelter. The smelter was to be run by the <a href="https://thebftonline.com/2023/07/18/valco-needs-us600m-to-modernise-aging-smelter/">Volta Aluminium Company (Valco)</a> in the new industrial city of Tema. </p>
<p>The smelter would be linked to a refinery to process Ghana’s bauxite, currently estimated at <a href="https://www.mining.com/web/ghana-signs-1-2-billion-deal-to-develop-its-bauxite-resources/">900 million tonnes</a>. Ghana has the second largest reserves in Africa after <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/bauxite-and-alumina-statistics-and-information">Guinea</a>.</p>
<p>Successive Ghanaian governments have pursued this strategy over the decades. The most recent push came in 2017 when the government embarked on its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwDpGcigkac">latest drive</a> to develop an aluminium producing capacity. </p>
<p>Since then, the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (Giadec) has <a href="https://thebftonline.com/2022/08/25/giadec-seeks-us6bn-for-integrated-aluminium-industry/">invested</a> in <a href="https://giadec.com/giadec-selects-mytilineos-s-a-as-partner-for-project-3a-development-of-bauxite-mine-alumina-refinery/">new mines</a> and is looking to partner with foreign and domestic companies to actualise a harmonised aluminium industry, including an alumina refinery.</p>
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<p>The logic has always been that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1808850">heavy industries</a> that turn natural resources into useful products are critical for structural transformation. That is, <a href="https://unhabitat.org/structural-transformation-in-developing-countries-cross-regional-analysis">moving an economy</a> “from low productivity and labour-intensive activities to higher productivity and skill-intensive ones”. </p>
<p>Such transformation is also <a href="https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/10.1596/978-1-4648-1448-8_ch1">associated</a> with rising wages and living standards. Heavy industries can also reduce reliance on imports. </p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629622001426">works</a> have identified gaps in geography-specific research on industrial decarbonisation in developing economies. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly under-researched, with research only really examining the case of <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52246331e4b0a46e5f1b8ce5/t/62f92860408b4b366da8a572/1660495974819/IDTT+5+WP5_Climate+change+policies+and+trade_202208.pdf">South Africa</a>.</p>
<p>We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103337">examined</a> Ghana’s long-standing challenges to the dream of a fully developed aluminium industry. We also assessed the most recent attempts to realise these plans against the backdrop of the energy transition and <a href="https://netzeroclimate.org/sectors/heavy_industry/">industrial decarbonisation</a>. </p>
<p>We found that new uncertainties and challenges stand in the way of Ghana’s latest efforts to develop an integrated aluminium industry. These are linked to the unfolding global energy transition agenda and shifts towards “green” manufacturing. </p>
<h2>Why aluminium</h2>
<p>Aluminium is both a constraint to and an enabler of a <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-net-zero">net zero</a> future. </p>
<p>On the one hand, it has numerous energy transition <a href="https://european-aluminium.eu/about-aluminium/aluminium-in-use">applications</a>, from solar panels and wind turbines to electricity cables and batteries. </p>
<p>But aluminium is also the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118004">second most</a> carbon-intensive industry, after steel. It accounts for <a href="https://www.carbonchain.com/blog/understand-your-aluminum-emissions">about 4%</a> of global emissions. Emission-reduction technologies are costly and, in many cases, still being developed. </p>
<h2>Challenges – old and new</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Theophilus-Acheampong/publication/333834250_Towards_an_Integrated_Aluminium_Industry_in_Ghana_Some_Policy_Considerations/links/5d0832ce299bf1f539cb8c66/Towards-an-Integrated-Aluminium-Industry-in-Ghana-Some-Policy-Considerations.pdf">obstacles</a> Ghana has faced in its aluminium industry over the decades have included a lack of investments in new mines, lack of refinery, limited <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7660.1987.tb00278.x">electricity</a> for smelting, and a lack of investments to upgrade the existing Valco smelter.</p>
<p>More recently, other constraints have come into play that make it hard for peripheral economies like Ghana to develop and sustain competitive aluminium industries.</p>
<p>Firstly, they are not financially in a position to use the latest sustainable production technologies, such as <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage">carbon capture, use and storage</a> and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/01/aluminium-green-transition-technologies-decarbonization/">green hydrogen</a>. These are needed to improve energy intensity and reduce emissions.</p>
<p>Secondly, Ghana faces tough new conditions, known as <a href="https://finance.ec.europa.eu/sustainable-finance/tools-and-standards/eu-taxonomy-sustainable-activities_en">“green taxonomies”</a>, being set by key export markets in the global north. Countries or trading blocs like the <a href="https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en">European Union</a> are demanding that importers in targeted heavy industrial sectors monitor and declare emissions embedded in products. They are also required to buy <a href="https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-12/Questions%20and%20Answers_Carbon%20Border%20Adjustment%20Mechanism%20%28CBAM%29.pdf">Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism certificates</a> to offset such emissions. The mechanism, which has already been introduced on a trial basis, will charge levies from January 2026.</p>
<p>There are strong critics of these mechanisms, with some <a href="https://www.energymonitor.ai/carbon-markets/how-cbam-threatens-africas-sustainable-development/">arguing</a> that they <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2023/e-May-2023/Africa-could-lose-up-to-25-billion-per-annum-as-a-direct-result-of-the-EUs-CBAM">threaten</a> Africa’s sustainable development. These arguments are unlikely to see the EU dropping these measures. </p>
<p>The third obstacle that Ghana faces revolves around how to make its refineries and smelters produce competitively priced aluminium. The cost of power is a sticking point as it has been in prior years.</p>
<p>According to Ghana’s recently published <a href="https://www.energymin.gov.gh/sites/default/files/2023-09/FINAL%20GHANA%27S%20NATIONAL%20ENERGY%20TRANSITION%20FRAMEWORK_2023_compressed%20%281%29_compressed%20%282%29.pdf">National Energy Transition Framework</a>, natural gas will serve as Ghana’s primary transition fuel. The government argues that it can provide the base load electricity that Ghana requires for industrialisation. </p>
<p>But choosing gas as the energy solution for Ghana’s aluminium chain could jeopardise the export potential of the aluminium it produces. About <a href="https://oec.world/en/visualize/tree_map/hs02/export/gha/show/157601/2019">80%</a> of Ghana’s aluminium is exported to Europe and could be subjected to carbon taxes if production is powered by gas.</p>
<p>Hydro electricity would, in many respects, be the ideal solution. It is Ghana’s cheapest and greenest energy source. And it would allow the country to compete in markets regulated by carbon considerations. </p>
<p>But this isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. If Valco and a new smelter were to operate at envisaged levels of production it would remove almost all the hydropower output of Akosombo Dam from Ghana’s broader electricity mix. The hydropower also plays a key role in bringing down overall <a href="https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/preview/1721654/ACHEAMPONG%202021%20Ghanas%20changing%20electricity%20%28VOR%29.pdf">electricity prices</a>. </p>
<p>Thus, while hydro electricity may be a technically good solution, it may not be politically acceptable in a country where electricity prices are a key <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68236869">electoral issue</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-electricity-crisis-is-holding-the-country-back-how-it-got-here-217606">Ghana's electricity crisis is holding the country back - how it got here</a>
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<p>Finally, other concerns are emerging around plans to mine bauxite in some of Ghana’s last remaining green forests, including the <a href="https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/protecting-ghana-s-atewa-range-forest-reserve-from-bauxite-mining">Atewa Forest Reserve</a>. </p>
<p>National and international civil society organisations and environmental activists are resisting the move. Many local businesses support it, however, because of the potential economic gains a mine and refinery would bring. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-pact-with-china-to-explore-bauxite-threatens-a-unique-forest-120815">Ghana's pact with China to explore bauxite threatens a unique forest</a>
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<p>These are some of the trade-offs that policymakers must consider.</p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>Collectively, these issues may frustrate Ghana’s ambitions once more. </p>
<p>At an international level, peripheral economies like Ghana need clarity about how particular energy technologies will be classified. </p>
<p>Lastly, climate financing and green technology transfer pledges from developed to developing economies need to be honoured. </p>
<p>We suggest the Ghanaian government can overcome some of these issues through dialogue with stakeholders and being frank about the trade-offs involved. But a national discussion about benefits and costs is only possible if it’s clearer what choices around energy will be made.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225000/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Theophilus Acheampong is affiliated with the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education in Accra, Ghana. He has consulted in a private capacity for the Government of Ghana on the aluminium industry.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Tyce does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ghana has spent over 60 years trying to build an aluminium industry.Theophilus Acheampong, Associate Lecturer, University of AberdeenMatthew Tyce, Lecturer in International Political Economy, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2163732023-10-29T19:12:04Z2023-10-29T19:12:04ZAustralia’s new dawn: becoming a green superpower with a big role in cutting global emissions<p>Australia has three ways it can help reduce world greenhouse emissions, the only reduction that matters in tackling climate change.</p>
<p>First, we can remove emissions from our economy. This will reduce global emissions <a href="https://www.aofm.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11-28/Aust%20Govt%20CC%20Actions%20Update%20November%202022_1.pdf">by just 1.3%</a>, but it must be done so we share the transition burden with other countries. </p>
<p>Second, we can stop approving new coal and gas projects, which will raise the cost of these products and so reduce world demand for them to some extent. This would have an important demonstration effect, although the reduction in world emissions may be less than some advocates think.</p>
<p>Third, we can quickly pursue industries in which Australia has a clear comparative advantage in a net-zero world. Of any country, Australia is probably best placed to produce <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6BLjjTW694&ab_channel=ABCNews%28Australia%29">green iron</a> and other minerals that require energy-intensive processing, as well as <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2023/september/sustainable-aviation-fuel">green transport fuels</a>, <a href="https://www.theland.com.au/story/7985444/good-to-go-green-with-green-urea/">urea</a> for fertiliser, and <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/australia-s-green-energy-future-can-maximise-global-decarbonisation-20230906-p5e2c1">polysilicon</a> for solar panels.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-973" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/973/534c98def812dd41ac56cc750916e2922539729b/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Australia’s huge green industry opportunity</h2>
<p>Of these three ways, by far the least public discussion is on the third: producing energy-intensive green exports. Yet these industries could reduce world emissions by as much as 6–9%, easily Australia’s largest contribution to the global effort. And it would transform our economy, turning Australia into a green energy superpower.</p>
<p>Australia produces <a href="https://www.mining-technology.com/data-insights/iron-ore-in-australia-2/#:%7E:text=Australia%20accounts%20for%2038%25%20of,share%20being%20exported%20to%20China.">almost 40%</a> of the world’s iron ore. Turning iron ore into metallic iron accounts <a href="https://research.csiro.au/tnz/low-emissions-steel/#:%7E:text=Australia%20produces%20almost%20half%20of,global%20green%20house%20gas%20emissions.">for 7% of global emissions</a>. Our iron ore is largely processed overseas, often using Australian coal, which can be exported cheaply. </p>
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<p>In the net-zero world, iron ore can be reduced to iron metal <a href="https://www.ing.com/Newsroom/News/Hydrogen-sparks-change-for-the-future-of-green-steel-production.htm#:%7E:text=The%20magic%20of%20hydrogen%20is,natural%20gas%20instead%20of%20hydrogen.">using green hydrogen</a> rather than coal. Considerable renewable energy will be needed, yet renewable energy and hydrogen are very expensive to export. </p>
<p>Therefore, rather than export ore, renewable energy and hydrogen, it makes economic sense to process our iron in Australia, before shipping it overseas. Doing so would reduce global emissions by around 3%.</p>
<p>Likewise, turning Australia’s bauxite <a href="https://arena.gov.au/blog/green-steel-and-aluminium-production-within-reach/">into green aluminium</a> using low-cost renewable energy could reduce world emissions by around 1%. Making polysilicon is also energy-intensive, so again Australia is a natural home for its production. And Australian low-cost green hydrogen plus sustainable carbon from <a href="https://arena.gov.au/renewable-energy/bioenergy/">biomass</a> are needed for making green urea and transport fuels. </p>
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<h2>From gas and coal power to clean power</h2>
<p>Australia is the <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/new-analysis-australia-ranks-third-for-fossil-fuel-export/">world’s largest exporter of gas and coal taken together</a>. Some analysts focus on the costs of losing this large comparative advantage as the world responds to climate change. They overlook two key points. </p>
<p>First, Australia has the world’s best combination of <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/energy/resources/other-renewable-energy-resources/wind-energy">wind</a> and <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/energy/resources/other-renewable-energy-resources/solar-energy">solar</a> energy resources, and enormous sources of biomass for a zero-emissions chemical industry. </p>
<p>Second, we have abundant and much-needed minerals that require huge amounts of energy to process. The high cost of <a href="https://arena.gov.au/blog/can-we-export-renewable-energy/">exporting renewable energy</a> and <a href="https://www.rechargenews.com/energy-transition/opinion-does-it-make-financial-sense-to-export-green-hydrogen-derived-ammonia-around-the-world-/2-1-1325336">hydrogen</a> makes it economically logical for these industries to be located near the energy source. </p>
<p>In other words, more of Australia’s minerals and other energy-intensive products should now be processed in Australia. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-urgently-needs-a-climate-plan-and-a-net-zero-national-cabinet-committee-to-implement-it-213866">Why Australia urgently needs a climate plan and a Net Zero National Cabinet Committee to implement it</a>
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<p>If Australia seizes this opportunity it can repeat the experience of the <a href="https://aus.thechinastory.org/archive/economics-and-the-china-resources-boom/#:%7E:text=For%20China%2C%20resources%20remain%20the,of%20trade%20surplus%20with%20China.">China resources boom</a> of around ten years ago, but this time the opportunity can be sustained, not boom and bust, with benefits spread over more regions and people.</p>
<p>Some of the actions governments must take to achieve the 6–9% reduction in world emissions will also help to decarbonise our economy. We must develop the skills we need, support well-staffed government bodies to provide efficient approvals for new mines and processes, build infrastructure that will often be far from the east coast electricity grid, and maintain open trade for imports and exports. </p>
<h2>What government must do</h2>
<p>But we also need policy changes to give private investors assistance to bridge the current <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/why-it-will-cost-320b-to-ditch-coal-in-three-maps-and-a-chart-20220608-p5as3t">cost gap between green and black products</a> (meaning ones made by clean or by fossil fuel energy) in these new industries, and to help early movers. </p>
<p>If we help companies to produce these products at scale, costs will fall as processes are streamlined and technology improves. Capital grants for early movers are an option, but more work is needed to determine the best forms of support.</p>
<p>Let’s make a distinction between energy-intensive green products and mining. While Australia should mine the energy transition minerals the world needs – such as lithium, cobalt and rare earths – mining does not need the financial incentives just cited. Critical minerals are used in black as well as green products and Australia already has significant expertise in mining. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-road-is-long-and-time-is-short-but-australias-pace-towards-net-zero-is-quickening-214570">The road is long and time is short, but Australia's pace towards net zero is quickening</a>
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<p>Some will argue Australia can wait until other countries have proven the technology and scaled up production so that the green-black price gap disappears; these new green industries will end up in Australia anyway because of our strong comparative advantage. This complacent argument has many flaws.</p>
<p>Australia is making decisions on its climate and economic direction now. If we do not focus on industries in which we have sustainable advantages we will end up damaging our prosperity. For example, we might pursue labour intensive industries that will be low margin and pay low wages, when other countries are better locations for them.</p>
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<p>Second, while technology breakthroughs will be shared internationally, innovation is often about streamlining processes to suit local conditions. If we learn these lessons in Australia, we can achieve lowest-cost world production. If not, these industries could permanently locate elsewhere.</p>
<h2>The need for speed</h2>
<p>Most importantly, Australia needs to move now to put in place the incentives set out above. No other nation that has the capacity to make these energy intensive green products at scale seems focused on the task. If Australia does not do it, the reduction in world emissions could be seriously delayed. </p>
<p>Of all countries, Australia is best placed to show the world what is possible. Companies and countries using conventionally made steel today can say they want to use green iron but none is available. Let’s deny them that excuse.</p>
<p>Once the large investment, productivity and prosperity benefits of this agenda are properly explained, all Australians will applaud it. </p>
<p>What’s more, the level of renewable energy required by the transition will see our power prices fall to some of the lowest in the world.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/worried-economists-call-for-a-carbon-price-a-tax-on-coal-exports-and-green-tariffs-to-get-australia-on-the-path-to-net-zero-216428">Worried economists call for a carbon price, a tax on coal exports, and 'green tariffs' to get Australia on the path to net zero</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rod Sims is also Chair of the Superpower Institute.</span></em></p>Australia has a massive opportunity to reduce global emissions by as much as 9%, all while renewing its heavy industries and economy. But to seize the opportunity, government needs to move fast.Rod Sims, Professor in the practice of public policy and antitrust, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1835672022-06-16T12:07:50Z2022-06-16T12:07:50ZEco-friendly tech comes with its own environmental costs: that’s why it’s vital to cut energy demand now<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468012/original/file-20220609-5837-p73uas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3613%2C2170&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mining and extracting metals has ecologically damaging consequences.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/silhouettes-workers-mine-176428352">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If we want to keep <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-says-earth-will-reach-temperature-rise-of-about-1-5-in-around-a-decade-but-limiting-any-global-warming-is-what-matters-most-165397">global temperature rise</a> below 1.5 or even 2°C, we’ll need a monumental shift in how our energy and transport systems work. The <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050">International Energy Agency</a> has declared that millions of solar panels, wind turbines and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-friendly-is-an-electric-car-it-all-comes-down-to-where-you-live-179003">electric vehicles</a> (EVs) will need to be made and deployed around the world in the next three decades. Thankfully, these technologies are constantly improving – as well as becoming cheaper. </p>
<p>However, a key feature of most <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-energy-innovations-could-transform-how-we-mitigate-climate-change-and-save-money-in-the-process-5-essential-reads-180076">eco-friendly tech</a> is that it requires more, and more varied, <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/extractiveindustries/brief/climate-smart-mining-minerals-for-climate-action">materials</a> than those used in the tech it’s replacing. Wind turbines need <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/zinc-low-carbon-economy-construction/">iron and zinc</a> for the corrosion-proof steel and motors needed to capture energy from the wind. And <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/iea-mineral-supplies-for-electric-cars-must-increase-30-fold-to-meet-climate-goals/">electric vehicles</a> need lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese for their batteries, plus neodymium and other rare earth materials for their motors.</p>
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<img alt="White cars charging electrically from charging points mounted on grey frames" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468055/original/file-20220609-18-5fcrtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468055/original/file-20220609-18-5fcrtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468055/original/file-20220609-18-5fcrtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468055/original/file-20220609-18-5fcrtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468055/original/file-20220609-18-5fcrtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468055/original/file-20220609-18-5fcrtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468055/original/file-20220609-18-5fcrtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electric vehicles require rare materials to run.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/power-supply-electric-car-charging-station-1070497337">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Building lots of these devices will therefore require huge amounts of specific materials, many of which are difficult to mine. Some can come from recycling, but for many materials, such as lithium, there’s just not enough being used today that can be recycled for future use. Instead, most will have to come from mining.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/electric-car-supplies-are-running-out-and-could-drastically-slow-down-the-journey-to-net-zero-182787">Electric car supplies are running out – and could drastically slow down the journey to net-zero</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This means that if low-carbon tech is to be used around the world, we need to face the less palatable consequences, or trade-offs, of building it. Making a global switch to EVs, for example, may mean <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/dec/08/the-curse-of-white-oil-electric-vehicles-dirty-secret-lithium">damaging forest ecosystems</a> to access lithium or cobalt.</p>
<h2>Trade-offs</h2>
<p>One major trade-off is the environmental damage associated with <a href="https://hackaday.com/2021/12/13/mining-and-refining-from-red-dirt-to-aluminum/">mining and refining</a> materials. An example is <a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/12/05/the-weekend-read-solar-needs-aluminum-but-it-has-a-carbon-problem/">aluminium</a>, vital for making solar panel frames. Worldwide aluminium production accounts for 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions, with studies estimating future emissions could reach <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00838-9">1.7 gigatonnes</a> of CO₂ by 2050 – equivalent to twice the annual emissions from planes. </p>
<p>There’s potential to cut these emissions significantly, however. Switching the source of electricity for processing aluminium from fossil fuels to hydroelectric can reduce emissions from new aluminium by around 75%. What’s needed to make that happen, though, are better financial incentives for the mining sector to use renewable energy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Brine pools for lithium mining" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468051/original/file-20220609-20-nyq0os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468051/original/file-20220609-20-nyq0os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468051/original/file-20220609-20-nyq0os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468051/original/file-20220609-20-nyq0os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468051/original/file-20220609-20-nyq0os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468051/original/file-20220609-20-nyq0os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468051/original/file-20220609-20-nyq0os.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brine extraction has uncertain consequences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/brine-pools-lithium-mining-1833635461">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Difficulties with sourcing these materials are not limited to the emissions they create. Extracting <a href="https://hir.harvard.edu/lithium-triangle/">lithium from brine</a> – as is done in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile – requires drilling holes in salt flats to bring brine (salt water) to the surface, then evaporating the water using sunlight to leave potassium, manganese, borax and lithium salts behind.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-lithium-mined-from-hot-springs-in-cornwall-could-boost-britains-green-tech-71741">How lithium mined from hot springs in Cornwall could boost Britain's green tech</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-020-00080-9">debate</a> about the extent to which this brine qualifies as water, and therefore how much its extraction is affecting <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/water-stress-global-problem-thats-getting-worse">water-stressed</a> regions like Chile. For those arguing that it should be classed as water, its extraction is creating unnecessary water scarcity and damaging fragile ecosystems. And even from the perspective of those arguing it’s not water due to its high concentration of minerals, the long-term consequences of its extraction remain unknown. </p>
<p>Cobalt, another vital material used in EV batteries, is mostly mined in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-coltan-mining-in-the-drc-costs-people-and-the-environment-183159">Democratic Republic of Congo</a>. A large but unknown quantity of cobalt is extracted by small-scale miners who often employ children and have been <a href="http://resourcefever.com/publications/reports/OEKO_2011_cobalt_mining_congo.pdf">accused</a> of unsafe working conditions, poor safety records and exploitative employment contracts.</p>
<p>These trade-offs are not a justification for avoiding action on climate change, nor for refusing to build the tech we need to decarbonise essential systems. They do, however, justify <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-necessary-to-trash-the-environment-to-extract-metals-needed-for-renewable-energy-174271">closer focus</a> on how the materials needed to make eco-friendlier tech are sourced. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person holds a sign reading '#FreeCongo End Child Mining'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468052/original/file-20220609-26-352gf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468052/original/file-20220609-26-352gf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468052/original/file-20220609-26-352gf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468052/original/file-20220609-26-352gf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468052/original/file-20220609-26-352gf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468052/original/file-20220609-26-352gf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468052/original/file-20220609-26-352gf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mining can have socially devastating consequences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/washington-dc-november-14-2020-democratic-1856050648">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Improving recycling of old products and scrap materials is a crucial part of this. However, the sheer increase in demand for these materials, due to the ongoing <a href="https://theconversation.com/fight-or-switch-how-the-low-carbon-transition-is-disrupting-fossil-fuel-politics-122376">low-carbon transition</a> as well as consumers’ growing wealth across the world, means this alone probably won’t be enough to avoid widespread ecosystem damage.</p>
<p>To help reduce this demand, we must increase the energy efficiency of our homes and businesses so they require less energy in the first place. Shifting away from private transport by investing in public transport will also help to cut mining demand. Without such action, achieving a truly sustainable <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-energy-revolution-is-possible-but-only-if-leaders-get-imaginative-about-how-to-fund-it-172427">low-carbon transition</a> will be impossible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Laing does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Solar panels and electric cars come with their own environmental trade-offs like increased mining and extraction.Timothy Laing, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of BrightonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1667842021-11-17T18:55:21Z2021-11-17T18:55:21ZWe’ve smelted a billion tonnes of recyclable aluminium. Do we need to make more?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429852/original/file-20211103-17-1g9q8y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5590%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mater-alloys-production-molten-aluminium-431382148">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Aluminium is light and versatile, but massively energy-intensive to produce, requiring <a href="https://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IEEFA_Why-Aluminium-Smelters-are-a-Critical-Component-in-Australian-Decarbonisation_June-2020.pdf">10% of Australia’s entire electricity output </a>. Recycling it uses just a fraction of the energy. Why aren’t we closing the loop? </p>
<p>This metal – the <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/education/classroom-resources/minerals-energy/australian-mineral-facts/aluminium">most abundant</a> in the Earth’s crust – is used in everything from kitchen utensils to soft drink cans, buildings and plane parts. </p>
<p>Since we discovered how to extract it in the 19th century, around <a href="https://www.aluminiumleader.com/production/how_aluminium_is_produced/">one billion tonnes</a> of aluminium has been smelted. Of that, three quarters is accessible for recycling. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, aluminium’s <a href="https://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IEEFA_Why-Aluminium-Smelters-are-a-Critical-Component-in-Australian-Decarbonisation_June-2020.pdf">energy-intensive production</a> has major consequences for climate change. We must power aluminium production with renewables, and find better ways to recycle this most useful metal. </p>
<p>To provoke thought about aluminium and its energy needs, I collaborated with designer <a href="https://www.kyokohashimoto.com/">Kyoko Hashimoto</a> to produce new works of design using aluminium. These mirrors and vases are currently on display as part of the National Gallery of Victoria’s <a href="https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/sampling-the-future/">Sampling the Future exhibition</a>. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/critical-design">critical designers</a>, we hope to communicate the waste problem created by mixing aluminium into unrecoverable composites, and reframe the perception of the metal’s value, which has diminished since its discovery.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="aluminium cans crushed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431628/original/file-20211112-27-fj7dqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431628/original/file-20211112-27-fj7dqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431628/original/file-20211112-27-fj7dqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431628/original/file-20211112-27-fj7dqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431628/original/file-20211112-27-fj7dqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431628/original/file-20211112-27-fj7dqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431628/original/file-20211112-27-fj7dqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trash – or treasure? Valuing aluminium more highly could boost recycling rates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>From precious metal to common disposable</h2>
<p>When aluminium was first extracted and purified, it was more expensive than gold. Napoleon III famously had his son’s baby rattle made from <a href="https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/march-23-1821-bauxite-discovered/">aluminium</a>. In 1884, as the most exotic metal of its day, it was used for <a href="https://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9511/binczewski-9511.html">the pyramid cap on the Washington monument</a>.</p>
<p>Now, aluminium is plentiful and cheap. Australia is the <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals/mineral-resources-and-advice/australian-resource-reviews/bauxite#:%7E:text=Australia%20is%20the%20world's%20largest,producer%20of%20aluminium%20(3%25).&text=Bauxite%20resources%20also%20occur%20in,small%20(%3C30%20Mt).">world’s leading producer</a> of the main ore, bauxite, and we export most of it for processing overseas.</p>
<p>Impressively large amounts of energy are needed to break the tight bonds of the metal from its oxides. In Australia, making new aluminium represents <a href="https://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IEEFA_Why-Aluminium-Smelters-are-a-Critical-Component-in-Australian-Decarbonisation_June-2020.pdf">6.5% of our greenhouse gas emissions</a>. The intense chemical process also creates <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-15/portland-aluminium-smelter-fluoride-impacts-on-koalas/13144624">toxic byproducts and pollution</a>.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, aluminium production has shifted to countries such as Iceland, with cheap and sustainable energy from <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-aluminium-outgunned-by-cheap-coal-free-global-rivals-23135">geothermal sources</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the lion’s share of production takes place in countries such as China, and often relies on Australian coal. Australia also ranks high in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jiec.13051">CO₂ emissions from alumina refining</a>, an intermediate stage of processing. </p>
<p>Recycling aluminium requires only <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=csiro:EP135565&dsid=DS2">around 5%</a>of the energy of smelting, the <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/australian-recycling-sector.pdf">highest recycling energy saving</a> for any major material. </p>
<p>Global aluminium recycling rates range from <a href="https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/recycling-rates-metals">34% to 70%</a>. In Australia, recycling rates for aluminium packaging are <a href="https://documents.packagingcovenant.org.au/public-documents/National%20Recycling%20and%20Recovery%20Survey%20(NRRS)%202015-16%20for%20Paper%20Packaging,%20Glass%20Containers,%20Steel%20Cans%20and%20Aluminum%20Packaging">between 44% to 66%,</a> but likely lower across industrial and consumer products. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-aluminium-outgunned-by-cheap-coal-free-global-rivals-23135">Australian aluminium outgunned by cheap, coal-free global rivals</a>
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<h2>Why don’t we recycle all our aluminium?</h2>
<p>There is scope to boost recycling, but product design and waste streams pose challenges.</p>
<p>For example, the aluminium we used in our designs is newly milled “5083”, a high grade, corrosion-resistant magnesium alloy with traces of manganese and chromium. Such trace metals are used to improve rigidity, corrosion resistance or welding capacity.</p>
<p>While our supplier sends offcuts and scrap for recycling, the mix of different alloys means these are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288873861_Typology_of_Options_for_Metal_Recycling_Australia's_Perspective">‘downcycled’</a> into lower-grade products. <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/f0196d2e-9040-4547-8cb6-8b433923b53d/files/waste-stocktake-report.pdf">Most of Australia’s aluminium scrap is exported</a>, so increasing our local recycling would decrease the emissions from shipping this scrap offshore.</p>
<p>There are losses across industrial and consumer waste streams alike, despite new sorting technologies. Magnetic <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/eddy-current-separation">eddy current technologies</a> can sort metal objects from non-metal objects and even non-ferrous metal objects from each other. </p>
<p>The job gets harder when you encounter multi-material objects. Metal fasteners like screws, rivets and pins, as well as bonded adhesives, are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617332298?casa_token=0FOK00pYbTYAAAAA:NNLrykRGe8sodoNupDimLTiqSJMq8P-Zj1OAvubvnBYDExp1eOl3TzEoksrPIJ5D7ycaCWM">leading causes of impurities</a> in aluminium recycling. </p>
<p>Many aluminium products are designed also as <a href="https://sustainabilitydictionary.com/2005/12/03/monstrous-hybrid/">“monstrous hybrid” composites</a> using materials unable to be easily separated. Coffee pods are the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/k-cup-creator-john-sylvan-regrets-inventing-keurig-coffee-pod-system-1.2982660">most famous example</a>.</p>
<p>These problems have to be fixed at the design stage. Such issues mean aluminium is steadily lost to human use, ending up in landfill and back into the environment.</p>
<p>While aluminium ores are readily found across the world, the metal is curiously absent from biological systems. It has had little role in plant or animal evolution and biologically available aluminium can be toxic. We do not know if this will have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2001037014600027">long-term consequences</a> in nature.</p>
<p>We drew attention to these hidden issues in the design of our “metalloplastiglomerate” vases. They were made by crumpling and hammering aluminium sheet around organic fibre, plastic and soft metal waste. </p>
<p>In these works, we speculate about what will happen to aluminium as it is ejected from collapsing cities and transforms back into geological rock in the far future. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419524/original/file-20210906-21-mj6a0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419524/original/file-20210906-21-mj6a0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419524/original/file-20210906-21-mj6a0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419524/original/file-20210906-21-mj6a0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419524/original/file-20210906-21-mj6a0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419524/original/file-20210906-21-mj6a0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419524/original/file-20210906-21-mj6a0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Metalloplastiglomerate vase, detail by Guy Keulemans and Kyoko Hashimoto. Photo by Traianos Pakioufakis.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Could we pioneer a circular economy with aluminium?</h2>
<p>Even as the world fights to stave off dangerous climate change, demand for new aluminium is estimated to <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es304256s">double or triple</a> by 2050. If Australia’s aluminium recycling improves, we’re likely to keep making new aluminium to supply increasing international demand. </p>
<p>Australia exports most of its new aluminium, despite our smelters relying on heavy <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/WP21_8.pdf">government subsidies</a>. These smelters have been used by politicians to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/22/no-coherent-plan-experts-reject-coalitions-rationale-for-taxpayer-funded-gas-power-plant">justify power from fossil fuels</a> for their <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-trouble-with-aluminium-7245">baseload output</a>. </p>
<p>This is a furphy. Hydroelectric power works well with smelters too. Aluminium production using renewable energy may be justified in Australia, if we can manage its other environmental impacts. </p>
<p>Australia should also stop exporting bauxite or alumina to countries with fossil fuel powered smelters. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-the-arts-could-help-solve-the-plastics-crisis-90136">Five ways the arts could help solve the plastics crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s entirely possible to end the need for new aluminium. Since we discovered the metal, we have produced around 1 billion tonnes of it. Around <a href="https://international-aluminium.org/aluminium-industry-optimism-lies-ahead-post-covid/">75% is in current use</a>, and available for recycling as it becomes necessary. Planning to stop producing new aluminium would create an incentive to better care for the metal we have and reduce waste. </p>
<p>And while aluminium is prized as a light and strong material, there are other materials with potential to replace it, including those that <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/1/15/21058051/climate-change-building-materials-mass-timber-cross-laminated-clt">capture carbon</a> instead of release it.</p>
<p>Slowing and eventually stopping new aluminium production would demonstrate how the world’s economy can thrive under degrowth – a <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-degrowth-economy-and-why-you-might-actually-enjoy-it-32224">controlled contraction</a> of production to stem climate change and function within the planet’s ecological limits. </p>
<p>We considered this idea in the design of our aluminium and bauxite mirrors. They contain roughly the amount of aluminium able to be produced from the bauxite rocks that hold them. To communicate a sense of conservation, we modified the rock as little as possible. We made one cut to expose its beautiful pebble-like internal structure, and a second to hold the mirror.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431766/original/file-20211113-27-47lfg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431766/original/file-20211113-27-47lfg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431766/original/file-20211113-27-47lfg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431766/original/file-20211113-27-47lfg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431766/original/file-20211113-27-47lfg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431766/original/file-20211113-27-47lfg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431766/original/file-20211113-27-47lfg5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Round Aluminium and Bauxite Mirror by Guy Keulemans and Kyoko Hashimoto. Photo by Traianos Pakioufakis.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our designs, we hope to show the technological beauty of aluminium production, as well as the care with which we should approach it. </p>
<p>Aluminium’s unique properties drive ever greater production. But a growth at all costs mentality for resource extraction is perilous – especially when we can use what we already have.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166784/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guy Keulemans receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Aluminium is hugely useful, but energy-intensive to produce. What if we didn’t have to smelt any more?Guy Keulemans, Faculty Research Fellow, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1496422020-11-17T13:24:56Z2020-11-17T13:24:56ZRanked: the environmental impact of five different soft drink containers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369620/original/file-20201116-21-t3bpjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C380%2C7940%2C4642&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/different-types-bottles-recycling-metal-aluminium-1465977107">AndriiKoval/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People are increasingly aware of the harm plastic waste causes to wildlife, and many would avoid buying single-use plastics if they could help it. But are the alternatives to plastic much better?</p>
<p>Let’s look at one example – fizzy drinks. You might assume that plastic bottles are the least green option, but is that always the case?</p>
<p>To find out, we <a href="https://digital.detritusjournal.com/articles/in-press/life-cycle-assessment-of-beverage-packaging/368">compared</a> five different types of pressurised drinks containers. We tested their environmental impact according to a range of criteria, including how each contributes to climate change and the pollution each produces during manufacture, use and disposal. </p>
<p>Here they are, ranked from worst to best.</p>
<h2>Fifth place: glass bottles</h2>
<p>It might come as a surprise, but glass bottles actually ranked last in our analysis. You might instinctively reach for a glass bottle to avoid buying a plastic alternative, but glass takes more resources and energy to produce. Glass making involves mining raw materials such as silica sand and dolomite, and that can release pollution which, when inhaled, can cause <a href="https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/silicosis/learn-about-silicosis">the lung condition silicosis</a>.</p>
<p>High temperatures are also needed to melt these materials, a process overwhelmingly <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=12631#:%7E:text=The%20bulk%20of%20energy%20consumed,number%20of%20electrically%2Dpowered%20furnaces.">powered by fossil fuels</a>. During production, the glass itself releases <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/ets/allowances/docs/bm_study-glass_en.pdf">carbon dioxide</a>. </p>
<p>Our analysis found that glass bottle production used the most natural resources, due to the sheer amount of material used. A one-litre glass bottle can weigh up to 800g, while a similar plastic bottle weighs around 40g. That extra weight means vehicles transporting glass bottles consume more fossil fuels to deliver the same amount of liquid. For these reasons, we found that glass bottles have about a 95% bigger contribution to global warming than aluminium cans. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A crate full of brown bottles with silver caps." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369791/original/file-20201117-13-1omh7m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369791/original/file-20201117-13-1omh7m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369791/original/file-20201117-13-1omh7m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369791/original/file-20201117-13-1omh7m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369791/original/file-20201117-13-1omh7m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369791/original/file-20201117-13-1omh7m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369791/original/file-20201117-13-1omh7m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More weight means more emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/crate-full-beer-bottles-377013919">Makushin Alexey/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fourth place: recycled glass bottles</h2>
<p>If a regular glass bottle is the worst, then surely those made from 100% recycled glass are much better, right? Unfortunately, no. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.recyclenow.com/recycling-knowledge/how-is-it-recycled/glass">Some energy is saved</a> in recycling rather than extracting, processing and transporting raw materials. But recycling glass still uses a <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/old/5703.pdf">lot of energy</a> because of the high temperatures needed to melt it. More energy means more greenhouse gas emissions, and during the process, the glass may release carbon dioxide again.</p>
<p>In the UK, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/918270/UK_Statistics_on_Waste_statistical_notice_March_2020_accessible_FINAL_updated_size_12.pdf">recycling rate</a> for glass is 67.6%. This would need to improve for glass bottle production to be self-sufficient by recycling alone.</p>
<h2>Third place: plastic bottles</h2>
<p>In third place is the plastic bottle. Plastic has ideal qualities for containing drinks. It’s strong, resistant to chemicals (so the ingredients in your drink don’t degrade the plastic), and it’s lightweight, meaning more can be transported on less emissions. That gave plastic a significantly lower impact on global warming than glass in our analysis.</p>
<p>But the effects of plastic waste globally are <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/interactive/beat-plastic-pollution/">well documented</a>. Glass and aluminium don’t break up into harmful <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html">microparticles</a> like plastic does.</p>
<p>Plastic recycling requires less energy due to the lower temperatures involved in melting the raw material. But plastic, unlike glass or aluminium, cannot be endlessly recycled. Each time it’s recycled, the chains of molecules that make up plastics are shortened. All plastic reaches a point when it can no longer be recycled and so becomes destined either for landfill, incineration or the environment. </p>
<h2>Second place: aluminium cans</h2>
<p>In second place are aluminium cans. We found that they contribute less to global warming than glass and plastic because making them consumes less energy and resources. Cans are lighter than glass and aren’t made from fossil fuels either, like plastic. </p>
<p>Because of the processes involved in making them, cans also contribute less to environmental problems like <a href="https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain#:%7E:text=Acid%20rain%20results%20when%20sulfur,before%20falling%20to%20the%20ground.">acid rain</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-is-already-a-disaster-but-it-could-get-worse-82175">oxygen-free zones</a> in the ocean. That’s because creating glass and plastic requires more electricity, and so it generates more sulphur dioxide pollution on average – a leading cause of acid rain. Making glass and plastic, and extracting the materials to make them (particularly soda ash for glass production), also releases more phosphates into the environment, which can overload rivers and coastal seas and deplete oxygen from the water.</p>
<p>But aluminium has its own environmental impacts. Making it involves refining bauxite ore, and mining bauxite can <a href="https://www.safewater.org/fact-sheets-1/2017/1/23/miningandwaterpollution">pollute water</a> in the countries it’s sourced, including Australia, Malaysia and India. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35340528">Rivers and sediment</a> contaminated with heavy metals threaten the health of people and wildlife near mines.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Machines load a train cart with minerals in an open-cast bauxite mine." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369796/original/file-20201117-15-15yp384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369796/original/file-20201117-15-15yp384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369796/original/file-20201117-15-15yp384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369796/original/file-20201117-15-15yp384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369796/original/file-20201117-15-15yp384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369796/original/file-20201117-15-15yp384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369796/original/file-20201117-15-15yp384.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bauxite exists in the topsoil of some tropical and subtropical countries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/arkalykkazakhstan-may-15-2012-bauxite-clay-1641079207">Alexey Rezvykh/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>First place: recycled aluminium cans</h2>
<p>Recycled aluminium cans were the least environmentally damaging single-use container we looked at. Aluminium can be constantly recycled with no change in properties. Recycling an aluminium can saves <a href="https://www.recyclenow.com/recycling-knowledge/how-is-it-recycled/cans">95% of the energy used</a> to make a new can and no new material needs to be mined or transported.</p>
<p>But aluminium isn’t always recycled. The UK’s recycling rate for aluminium packaging <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/918270/UK_Statistics_on_Waste_statistical_notice_March_2020_accessible_FINAL_updated_size_12.pdf">is just 52%</a>. This must be drastically improved to make recycling the main supply of new cans.</p>
<p>Even if some of these containers are better than others, all of them have an environmental impact. The best option would be to phase out single-use packaging entirely, and introduce a system of reusing containers. Think <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49839180">self-serve drinks machines</a> in local shops, where you could fill a bottle that you bring from home, or bottle <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43563164">return</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-43742296">reuse</a> schemes. </p>
<p>Reducing waste and reusing materials, where possible, should come before recycling something. By reusing bottles, we reduce the amount of single-use packaging that needs to be created, reducing waste and a whole host of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827120302596">global environmental problems</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149642/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Williams receives funding from EPSRC and EU Horizon2020. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Brock receives funding from ESRC. </span></em></p>Here’s how to quench your thirst in an environmentally responsible way.Ian Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonAlice Brock, PhD Candidate in Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1423722020-07-14T19:58:59Z2020-07-14T19:58:59ZPower play: despite the tough talk, the closure of Tiwai Point is far from a done deal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347003/original/file-20200713-189212-tc97wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4013%2C2263&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marc Daalder</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Another year, another round of hostage-taking by the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.</p>
<p>As always, Rio Tinto has made the first move, <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300052786/tiwai-point-aluminium-smelter-to-close-1000-jobs-to-go">threatening to close</a> New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) in Southland unless some ransom is paid. A thousand jobs would be lost, with a further 1,600 indirectly affected.</p>
<p>In the usual script the New Zealand government caves in and smelting rolls on while Rio Tinto and its local allies pocket their gains.</p>
<p>Will this time be different? As with any ransom demand, the questions are whether the threat is credible and how bad the consequences of refusing would be.</p>
<h2>Will the smelter really close?</h2>
<p>Cutting the smelter’s power price by a third is <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/weekend-herald/20200711/282269552691758">apparently the demand</a> this time. Given the history (and the National Party’s unclear position) there is a real possibility the eventual outcome (after the election) could be another ransom payment and another few years of aluminium production.</p>
<p>A win for Rio Tinto could take several forms. The government could pay a cash ransom (<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9016725/Govt-pays-30-million-to-Tiwai-Pt">as in 2013</a>). Or Meridian Energy (supplier to Tiwai Point) could give up a chunk of its revenue. Or the big five electricity generators could share the ransom among themselves as a means of staving off a fall in residential power prices.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-market-is-not-our-master-only-state-led-business-cooperation-will-drive-real-economic-recovery-141532">The market is not our master — only state-led business cooperation will drive real economic recovery</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Alternatively, the Electricity Authority, always a compliant lapdog of the “gentailer” (generator-retailer) cartel, could provide the industry with cover by mandating <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120042792/vector-says-if-smelter-gets-transpower-discount-then-it-may-ask-for-one-too">price discounts</a> for other power companies too.</p>
<p>If nobody blinks, we will find out whether the closure threat was really credible. </p>
<p>We can immediately set aside the smelter’s “<a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/business/future-still-uncertain-tiwai-point">NZ$46 million loss</a>” declared for the past year. The accounts of both <a href="https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/service/services/documents/D20C19F33E53B75FAC6213169B305973">NZAS</a> (the smelter operator) and <a href="https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/service/services/documents/B36EEA70A36E3EABDAC9FFA50B0A413A">Pacific Aluminium NZ Ltd</a> are (quite legally) arranged to produce whatever profit/loss (and associated <a href="https://www.riotinto.com/sustainability/sustainability-reporting/taxes-paid-report">tax liability</a>) the overseas owners want.</p>
<p>The final decision would be a strategic one for Rio Tinto: reputational benefits of being seen to punish a recalcitrant host economy, versus the loss of a renewables-powered smelter in an increasingly carbon-conscious world.</p>
<p>It really could go either way and I’m laying no bets.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347005/original/file-20200713-46-erkb9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347005/original/file-20200713-46-erkb9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347005/original/file-20200713-46-erkb9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347005/original/file-20200713-46-erkb9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347005/original/file-20200713-46-erkb9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347005/original/file-20200713-46-erkb9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347005/original/file-20200713-46-erkb9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Renewable-energy-powered aluminium: could a carbon-conscious world influence Rio Tinto’s calculations?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marc Daalder</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How could we use the extra electricity?</h2>
<p>We can, however, get a handle on possible policy responses to actual closure. The biggest impact, from which potentially big gains could come, is the freed-up electricity from the Manapouri power station.</p>
<p>Getting that amount of electricity (<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/420885/tiwai-point-smelter-closure-what-happens-to-the-electricity-sector#">13% of the country’s entire consumption</a>) to anywhere other than Bluff is not a simple matter, because it will need a new transmission line from Manapouri to Benmore or Christchurch. That line has never been built, and to build it now will take time and money. </p>
<p>Transpower is <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/117888748/surplus-power-from-smelter-could-be-freedup-for-south-island-in-2022">reported</a> to be finally getting to work, but don’t expect an immediate result.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unless-we-improve-the-law-history-shows-rushing-shovel-ready-projects-comes-with-real-risk-141530">Unless we improve the law, history shows rushing shovel-ready projects comes with real risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>You might well think that building that line decades ago would have provided the New Zealand government with an essential bargaining chip (the “outside option” of reallocating the electricity if the smelter closed).</p>
<p>Certainly by failing to take that step, the state has declared a lack of will to resist ransom demands, which probably gave the smelter owners confidence in repeating those demands.</p>
<p>Suppose the line is built, what gain could residential consumers see? Well, it depends.</p>
<p>If the smelter’s contract is simply ended and Meridian is left looking for a new buyer, this might break the big-generator cartel and bring prices down. Or it might just lead to collective market manipulation to protect their share prices. (Contact is <a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2007/S00160/contact-says-smelter-closure-is-disappointing.htm">already talking</a> of pausing a new geothermal project.)</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347006/original/file-20200713-189216-vn1tqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347006/original/file-20200713-189216-vn1tqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347006/original/file-20200713-189216-vn1tqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347006/original/file-20200713-189216-vn1tqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347006/original/file-20200713-189216-vn1tqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347006/original/file-20200713-189216-vn1tqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347006/original/file-20200713-189216-vn1tqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Tiwai Point control room: 13% of New Zealand’s electricity flows through the smelter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marc Daalder</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What if the government became a player?</h2>
<p>Alternatively, suppose the government summons up the courage to compulsorily acquire Rio Tinto’s contract rights (which run to 2030) and thus becomes the “single buyer” of 5,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity a year.</p>
<p>The government would then be able to dispose of this electricity as it sees fit. If it were to put the material well-being of households (in particular the poor ones) at the top of its priorities, it could supply those consumers with a fair chunk of their annual electricity consumption at a price far below the regular market wholesale price.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/owners-of-electric-vehicles-to-be-paid-to-plug-into-the-grid-to-help-avoid-blackouts-132519">Owners of electric vehicles to be paid to plug into the grid to help avoid blackouts</a>
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<p>It could do this even within the current (deeply flawed) electricity market structure, leaving supply and demand to play out for the rest of the 40,000 GWh of annual generation.</p>
<p>Readers with long memories may recall the 1992 Hydro New Zealand proposal, which sought to protect vulnerable consumers from rising prices under corporatisation and privatisation by locking in just such a long-term, low-price “vesting contract”.</p>
<p>There is, however, a softer option open to the government, which would mollify Southland while leaving the crucial transmission line unbuilt. </p>
<p>That is the time-honoured Think Big tradition of installing some new, heavily subsidised giant electricity-using industry at Bluff – perhaps a “green hydrogen” plant, perhaps a data centre or even a Tesla “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/122100737/tesla-gigafactory-or-another-smelter-among-ideas-floated-for-tiwai-point">gigafactory</a>”.</p>
<p>Remember, the government has a big stake in the profitability of three of the big generators. Watch this space – and don’t expect your power bills to come down any time soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142372/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Bertram does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are many possible outcomes from the closure of the smelter – just don’t expect lower electricity prices to be one of them.Geoff Bertram, Senior Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1239202019-09-23T13:21:32Z2019-09-23T13:21:32ZLessons about housing from Ghana’s Volta River project 50 years on<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293370/original/file-20190920-50923-q934cp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Volta River In Ghana, downstream from the dam.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Iain Jackson</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Volta River project in Ghana was a symbolic embodiment of progress, modernisation, and development. It offered the opportunity for newly independent Ghana to develop a complex and integrated industrial base using local resources and materials. While the initial concept was discussed as early as 1924, it was only in the 1950s that the feasibility report was written and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUYv5UJ8O2Q">work commenced</a>.</p>
<p>The idea was to harness power generated from a hydroelectric dam to smelt bauxite into aluminium and to export it from the newly built port-town of Tema. For Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first post independence leader, it was a perfect blend of nationalist development and international trade. It was a means of throwing off the shame of an imperial past with an ambitious and prestigious infrastructure project. </p>
<p>The development was not only concerned with industry, Nkrumah was also adamant that housing provision was to be enhanced. The aluminium plant workers were to be housed in a purpose built new town at Kpong with an array of social amenities, parks, health and education facilities. </p>
<p>The problem, like with most idealistic visions, was funding the venture. Nkrumah had secured some, if limited, backing from the UK government, and was hoping for the UK-Canadian aluminium venture to provide the remainder. </p>
<p>Nkrumah’s commitment to high quality housing for the smelter workers was admirable – but the business consortium didn’t share this generous vision and was reluctant to fund even the most basic dwellings. The idea of providing extensive sports facilities and high quality infrastructure was an anathema. The negotiations eventually failed.</p>
<p>But the project was too important to Nkrumah and he persisted in seeking new partners, including Soviet support, which deeply concerned the UK and US. Eventually, US steel magnate and dam builder <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/henry-j-kaiser-builds-hoover-dam-and-us-warships-video">Henry J. Kaiser</a> agreed to deliver the project. The deal involved moving the smelter closer to the new town of Tema, and using imported US bauxite. This destroyed Nkrumah’s aspirations to use local raw materials. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, a new town called Akosombo was built to house the hydro-power station workers at the dam site. To this day it has a carefully controlled town plan and highly accountable local government to ensure that the main town is properly managed, complete with maintained markets, roads and facilities. </p>
<p>The hydro-electric dam is still rightly a source of immense national pride, and the prestige of the project is reflected in the township. It is like no other town in Ghana, and its manicured landscapes, housing and commitment to being a well run town renders it a highly attractive place to live among the beautiful hills and within close proximity to Accra.</p>
<p>But not everything worked out this well. A town called New Ajena was also developed to house communities that were forced to move because of the dam. This was a much less successful project.</p>
<p>Useful lessons can be learnt from both. In our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13602365.2019.1643389">recently published paper</a> we assessed the development of the high profile project from the perspective of providing housing. Housing was indeed provided, but not uniformly. In addition, extensive social provision was seen as a luxury item and quickly cut from budgets by the early 1960s. As a result housing for the most vulnerable was only deemed possible if it included a “self-build” contribution by the residents themselves. </p>
<h2>The failures</h2>
<p>The dam resulted in the formation of one of the world’s largest man-made lakes. 80,000 people living upstream were forced to flee their fertile farms and ancestral lands as the water level continued to rise and flooded their homes.</p>
<p>Nkrumah decreed that “no one would be made worse off” and a programme of replacement homes and villages commenced. But there was substantial delay. </p>
<p>The World Food Programme was forced to intervene. It didn’t simply hand out supplies, but instead distributed food in exchange for labour. Residents were forced to “clear” 450,000 acres (182,109 hectares) to make way for the first 18 resettlement sites. 739 villages were eventually consolidated into 52 townships to benefit from economies of scale for services, school provision, road maintenance and market stalls. </p>
<p>New Ajena was one of the first resettlement villages to replace the former Ajena now submerged by the lake. Sites were selected based on being easily accessible, close to good farming areas, and ideally at high altitude with a good water supply. This did not leave many options and most new settlements, like New Ajena, were simply placed at the lake edge. The housing stock loosely tracks the road and is arranged in informal clusters. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293367/original/file-20190920-50936-1wey4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293367/original/file-20190920-50936-1wey4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293367/original/file-20190920-50936-1wey4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293367/original/file-20190920-50936-1wey4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293367/original/file-20190920-50936-1wey4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293367/original/file-20190920-50936-1wey4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293367/original/file-20190920-50936-1wey4cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Core Housing at New Ajena.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Iain Jackson</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The use of standard components and basic construction resulted in rapid production rates with over 200 houses built a week, and 11,000 units completed by 1964. The housing type was called a “core house” – effectively a single room and raised veranda. The idea was for the residents to gradually extend the houses as required, according to a prescribed plan and building standard.</p>
<p>As part of my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13602365.2019.1643389">research</a> I spoke to some residents who have lived in the settlement since the early 1960s. They can remember the developments that have taken place. They can recall some larger families being forced to move from substantial multi-room structures to one simple room which resulted in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. </p>
<p>Extensions and modifications to the core houses have been limited, although most have added an extra room and extended the front porch. Water is still obtained via a stand-pipe which serves as the local gathering place. There are shared latrines (which are generally unpopular) although many residents have constructed their own bathhouses. </p>
<h2>Undelivered promises</h2>
<p>The promise of material modernisation has still not been delivered. A small primary school was built along with the core houses and more recently a secondary school has been constructed by the residents. A shop provides basic supplies and most residents keep goats and chickens and grow fruit and vegetables. The settlement has been criticised for its unauthorised structures and land use, but without this cultivation, such a remote town could not have survived. </p>
<p>While the development has not quite adhered to the plan and early proposals inflicted hardship on many, it is now very much a thriving settlement. Basic social amenities are slowly being added as the village sees fit.</p>
<p>Formal planning and the precise placing of buildings, overly prescriptive building regulations and rule-making have yielded to a schematic set of principles that devolve far greater control to residents and they should be commended for their efforts. </p>
<h2>Lessons learned</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13602365.2019.1643389">Akosombo</a> plan is a pristine example of top-down planning with a highly controlled environment. But it only managed to house a small and privileged portion of society. If this model can be funded and delivered to a large community it is certainly a valid and attractive option. </p>
<p>Where this is not possible, New Ajena offers another route, one that is more inclusive and reliant on the goodwill and hard work of the community, but one that shows how large populations can be rehoused quickly. </p>
<p>Of course, it need not be a case of one or the other, and the planned Akosombo model, with associated satellite self-built villages, could deliver a sustainable and affordable solution to housing in Ghana.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iain Jackson receives funding from The British Academy. </span></em></p>Resettlement plans for large infrastructure projects don’t always go according to plan.Iain Jackson, Professor and Architect, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/975822018-06-06T10:37:06Z2018-06-06T10:37:06Z4 charts showing why putting tariffs on your friends is a bad idea<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221857/original/file-20180605-119860-1u2shxj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't forget your friends.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Evan Vucci</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Europeans, Canadians and Mexicans buy more American goods and services than anyone else in the world. So why would the Trump administration be willing to start a trade war with the United States’ most important trading partners – as well as some of its oldest allies? </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-trumps-threat-to-slap-tariffs-on-foreign-steel-is-a-bad-idea-80847">current dispute</a> started back in March, when the White House proposed tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum on national security grounds. That led to <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/march/tradoc_156648.pdf">threats</a> of retaliation. The administration granted temporary exemptions to several key allies, including Canada, Mexico and the European Union. As of May 31, they’ve all expired, and the U.S. government <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/us/politics/trump-aluminum-steel-tariffs.html">decided</a> not to renew them. </p>
<p>Now the EU, Mexico and Canada are beginning to make good on those threats. </p>
<p>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2018/05/31/justin-trudeau-says-donald-trumps-tariff-rationale-absurd/660461002/">called the tariffs</a> “totally unacceptable” and “an affront” to Canadian soldiers who have served alongside Americans in numerous conflicts.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B744wv0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">economist</a> who studies international trade, I thought it’d be instructive to explore the trade relationships the U.S. has with each partner to show just how important they are – and what would be the consequences of a full-blown trade war. </p>
<h2>Why they’re upset</h2>
<p>The Trump administration <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/us/politics/trump-aluminum-steel-tariffs.html">placed</a> a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum with the aim of propping up U.S. metals manufacturers. </p>
<p>A tariff is basically a tax on imports that raises the price of foreign company’s products for American consumers, putting imports at a disadvantage to domestic producers. </p>
<p>To see why these three U.S. allies are so upset, one need only look at the biggest suppliers of U.S. metals. Canada dominates, supplying more than a quarter of all U.S. steel, aluminum and iron imports in 2016. More importantly, steel exports to the U.S. make up <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/01/trade-steel-quotas-tariffs-navarro-trump-513565">more than half</a> of total Canadian production. </p>
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<p>The EU came second at 14 percent, while Mexico ranked fifth with 5.4 percent of U.S. imports. Steel exports to the U.S. also make up more than half of Mexican production.</p>
<h2>America’s biggest customers</h2>
<p>The EU is the single biggest market for exported U.S. goods, buying US$270 billion of American products in 2016, followed closely by Canada and Mexico. By comparison, China buys just $116 billion. </p>
<p>On the flip side, Americans purchase more from those countries than they sell, creating bilateral trade deficits that the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/us/politics/trade-deficit-tariffs-economists-trump.html">president hates</a> – even as most economists say they don’t matter. The U.S. imports $417 billion in goods from the EU, $294 billion from Mexico and $278 billion from Canada.</p>
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<p>When the steel tariffs were first proposed in March, the EU, Canada and Mexico all reacted by threatening to retaliate with their own sanctions against some of these products.</p>
<p>So far, only Canada and Mexico have done so. Canada <a href="https://www.fin.gc.ca/activty/consult/cacsap-cmpcaa-eng.asp">announced</a> dollar-for-dollar tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as sanctions of 15 percent to 25 percent on whiskey, orange juice and other food products. Mexico <a href="https://www.gob.mx/se/articulos/mexico-impondra-medidas-equivalentes-a-diversos-productos-ante-las-medidas-proteccionistas-de-ee-uu-en-acero-y-aluminio-158765?idiom=es">also slapped</a> tariffs on U.S. steel, as well as various farm products, including pork, cheese, apples, whiskey, cranberries, grapes and canned goods.</p>
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<p>While tariffs on these products won’t have much of an impact on the overall U.S. economy, they could be especially painful for particular industries or regions. For example, <a href="https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/visualize/tree_map/hs92/export/usa/show/0203/2016/">Mexico is the second-largest consumer</a> of U.S. pig meat, making the industry vulnerable to Mexican tariffs. </p>
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<iframe src="https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/visualize/embed/tree_map/hs92/export/usa/show/0203/2016/?controls=false" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="400"> </iframe>
<figcaption>Countries that import U.S. pig meat.</figcaption>
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<p>And tariffs like those on Kentucky bourbon and motorcycles seem <a href="https://www.apnews.com/9014f8128c324f77976852b875ef040d">intended</a> to hit key members of Congress where they live – namely, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the home of Harley-Davidson.</p>
<p>Disruption to U.S.–Canada trade could also affect <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2017/03/30/how-u-s-states-rely-on-the-nafta-supply-chain/">cross-border supply chains that have grown during the NAFTA era</a>. The automotive industry is particularly vulnerable in this regard.</p>
<p>Although the EU hasn’t pulled the trigger on its own <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/march/tradoc_156648.pdf">tariffs</a> – yet – it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/01/eu-starts-retaliation-against-donald-trumps-steel-and-aluminium-tariffs">recently opened a case</a> at the World Trade Organization, arguing Trump’s tariffs can’t be justified on national security grounds and are no more than “pure protectionism.” A negative judgment at the WTO could result in the U.S. having to compensate aggrieved foreign producers or face broader retaliatory measures. </p>
<h2>American consumers will also feel pain</h2>
<p>While the purpose of Trump’s tariffs is to shift U.S. steel consumption away from foreign producers and towards domestic producers, Americans will share some of the pain as well. </p>
<p>For example, if automakers have to pay more for the steel used in cars, you’ll see that effect when you visit your local dealer. One estimate put it at an additional $175 per vehicle. </p>
<p>And higher prices for things that require steel or aluminum like cars, planes, construction and appliances can slow the rest of the economy. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-trumps-threat-to-slap-tariffs-on-foreign-steel-is-a-bad-idea-80847">When President Bush tried a similar tariff in 2001</a>, it was estimated that it cost American consumers $400,000 for each domestic steel job saved. </p>
<p>The reaction of the EU, Canada and Mexico raises the possibility the U.S. is facing down a full-blown trade war – even as it does the same with China. Whether tensions can be turned down before serious harm is done remains to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97582/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Hauk has previously received funding from the Center for International Business Education and Research, which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. </span></em></p>The Trump administration recently imposed tariffs of up to 25 percent on foreign steel and aluminum – including from the EU, Canada and Mexico, the three biggest markets for American goods.William Hauk, Associate Professor of Economics, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/797362017-07-06T23:14:08Z2017-07-06T23:14:08ZSilicosis’s toxic legacy offers deadly lessons for today<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174593/original/file-20170619-22108-11awctc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Miners in several countries have suffered the side-effects of the gold bonanza.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>“His cough is loose … considerable amount of thick, black expectoration … cannot run; in the past six months has lost 16 pounds in weight … has no appetite in the morning and feels shaky and dizzy … diagnosis: Extensive bilateral fibrosis due to silicosis.”</em></p>
<p>So reads the medical report on a Finnish miner in the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1707877/">October 1924 volume of the Canadian Medical Association Journal</a>. He had been working at the Porcupine gold camp near Timmins, Ont., for nine years on the day of his examination. The mining boom, begun in 1909, attracted miners, geologists and investment from around the world. </p>
<p>But the rock held a deadly secret. When subjected to blasting and grinding, it produced tiny needle-like silica shards which shredded human lungs, cutting working lives tragically short. </p>
<p>A century later, <a href="https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/silicosis.html">silicosis</a> is making headlines in Canada, thanks largely to the work of Janice Martell. Inspired by her miner father Jim Hobbs, <a href="http://www.mcintyrepowderproject.com/">Martell began to document</a> health issues associated with a silicosis “cure” made from aluminum called McIntyre Powder. This spring <a href="https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/man-who-inspired-mcintyre-powder-research-project-dies-634566">Hobbs died after a 16-year battle with Parkinson’s disease</a> possibly related to aluminum exposure.</p>
<h2>A massive threat emerges</h2>
<p>Researchers are still trying to understand the connection between aluminum inhalation and neurological disease. But a look back at Canada’s history of industrialization can help us understand why miners inhaled McIntyre Powder in the first place.</p>
<p>Silicosis did not appear in the Canadian lexicon until the turn of the 20th century. Ontario’s Workers Compensation Act officially included it in 1917, and the government compensated its first case in 1924. </p>
<p>After that, <a href="https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=silicosis&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Csilicosis%3B%2Cc0">silicosis exploded</a>. By 1928, miners were required to carry certificates attesting to their lung health before they could be hired. Canada’s immigration office screened for it, and mining firms amassed towering stacks of scientific literature. </p>
<p>The disease wreaked havoc not only on miners’ bodies but also on corporate bottom lines, share prices and the viability of workers’ compensation. The chaotic scramble to get a hold on silicosis in the 1920s signifies a desperate industry facing a massive new threat. </p>
<h2>Shift towards industrialization</h2>
<p>The timing of silicosis’s rise is hardly a coincidence. A variety of hockey-stick shaped graphs for everything from global population to cultivated land to carbon emissions suggests a major shift in the trajectory of human and environmental history after global industrialization. Add to this list spiking silicosis. </p>
<p>During the early years of the gold rushes of the 19th century in California, British Columbia, Australia and the Klondike, miners largely worked above ground and the word “silicosis” did not exist. But as gold became increasingly hard to find, mining microscopic and finely distributed gold emerged as a profitable pursuit – for those with the capital and manpower to obtain it. </p>
<p>No longer the individualistic, free-wheeling mining archetype we know from gold rush lore, extraction became an expensive, large-scale and complicated industrial affair. At the turn of the 20th century, Ontario began an industrialization project aimed at bringing its hinterland, including the Porcupine area, into the service of Canada’s economy.</p>
<p>Even after miners started dying, there was no going back for companies with millions of dollars already sunk into Canadian bedrock. In the face of terrifying, unprecedented problems, the only possible direction was further forward. </p>
<h2>A global issue</h2>
<p>Ontario was not the only victim of this nasty side effect of the gold bonanza. South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and the United States suffered too. The Ontario mines sent a delegate to the <a href="http://www.ugr.es/%7Eamenende/investigacion/ILO-Silicosis-Conference-1930.pdf">First Annual Silicosis Conference in Johannesburg</a>, published papers in international journals and brought in overseas experts.</p>
<p>They also invented <a href="https://www.whsc.on.ca/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?nodeguid=5cf45da7-d040-44e2-93f7-3eb6f76fa4dd">the aluminum-based silicosis cure McIntyre Powder in northern Ontario</a>. It was to be inhaled by miners before their shifts underground. In an uncertain era, scientific solutions like McIntyre Powder promised stability, progress and the continuation of the industrial dream. </p>
<p>With its help (plus improvements to mine design, drilling and ventilation), Canada effectively cured silicosis by the mid-20th century. </p>
<h2>Quick fixes</h2>
<p>In what has become an oft-repeated trope, the “solutions” produced new problems. If we are to understand how mining firms and governments could ask gold miners to inhale toxic aluminum dust, we must also understand the industrial disease crisis facing the world in the early 20th century. McIntyre Powder has been treated as a labour and social health problem, but it’s also a product of our turn towards an industrial economy. </p>
<p>Ontario’s workers’ compensation board still does not officially recognize the link between (inhaled) aluminum and neurological disease, but <a href="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/mcmaster-lab-could-play-key-role-in-finding-answers-for-miners-potentially-injured-by-mcintyre-powder/">the research is coming</a>. When it arrives, it will bring justice for Martell and other miners’ families. For the rest of us, it is a lesson on the risk of trusting quick fixes to human and environmental industrial crises still to be solved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mica Jorgenson receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council </span></em></p>Canada rushed to counter a deadly lung disease afflicting gold miners in the early 20th century. The “quick fix” cure that was invented is a symbol of the lurch towards global industrialization.Mica Jorgenson, PhD candidate, Environmental History, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/588142016-05-04T14:10:43Z2016-05-04T14:10:43ZWhy non-renewables are still in abundance while renewables are not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121230/original/image-20160504-13603-ugd88y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The problem the world faces is that many of the resources that are truly threatened are the renewable ones, not, as so often assumed, the non-renewables. </p>
<p>Many of the earth’s renewable resources are being insanely over-exploited, and humanity seems incapable of agreeing on rules for their protection. Fish, large mammals, fresh water, timber, clean air – the list is endless.</p>
<p>In contrast, many non-renewable reserves have become so plentiful that their prices are presently at historic lows.</p>
<p>The question is: how has it come about that our non-renewable reserves are seemingly inexhaustible?</p>
<h2>The case of oil</h2>
<p>Fears that the world would soon run out of oil have been around for many <a href="http://dieoff.org/page153.htm">years</a>. During the first decade of this century, the so-called “Peak Oil” hypothesis pushed the view that the world had reached the height of oil production <a href="http://peak-oil.org/">capability</a>. The reserve and production <a href="http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/downloads.html">statistics</a> tell a very different story.</p>
<p>Back in 1980 the proven reserves were about 700 billion barrels and production was running at about 23 billion barrels per year, so there were about 30 years of oil <a href="http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/downloads.html">left</a>. By 2010, therefore, most of the 1980 oil would have been exhausted – yet by 2010, the proven reserves had grown to around 1600 billion barrels, the consumption had increased to 30 billion barrels per annum, and over 50 years of oil were left.</p>
<p>Another way of looking at this is to see how long it took to deplete the Proven Reserve in any one year. The 1980 oil reserve was consumed by 2007 - it lasted only 27 years; the 1985 oil lasted until 2014, 29 years; the 1990 oil will probably last until 2022, 32 years. Even though the rate of consumption is increasing, the reserve at any one time is lasting longer.</p>
<p>Our instinct tells us that the world’s resources are finite. Yet the example shows us that the reserves of oil have grown for the past 35 years even though the rate of exploitation has increased. Have our instincts let us down?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121171/original/image-20160504-5832-jnu52j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fears that the world would soon run out of oil have been around for many years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The paradox beyond oil</h2>
<p>The example of oil is not unique. Many other materials are being exploited without fear of exhaustion of the reserves. For instance, over 50 years, the production of copper rose six-fold while the reserve/production ratio grew from 40 to nearly 80 years before dropping back to 50 years.</p>
<p>The case of copper is particularly remarkable because copper is <a href="http://www.copper.org/environment/lifecycle/ukrecyc.html">extensively recycled</a>, so a six-fold increase in what is mined is all the more significant. Moreover, consider the significance of a reserve/production ratio of 80 years. It implies that, if you were to discover a new deposit of copper, it might mean a wait of as long as 80 years before it was worth producing the copper you had discovered. Geological exploration is not cheap. No-one likes to spend money on exploration which will only start to yield revenue after many decades.</p>
<p>The production volumes and the reserve/production ratio of most non-renewable resources show patterns similar to that of copper. Production has increased inexorably, but the reserve has grown. Lead, mercury and asbestos are counter-examples. Health concerns have reduced the demand for the resource to low levels, and the reserve/production ratio has become very large.</p>
<h2>Resolving the paradox</h2>
<p>There are a number of factors underlying this paradox. The first is consideration of what constitutes a “reserve”. Our planet has many resources but they only become reserves when someone can find a way of making use of the resource material.</p>
<p>For instance, the crust of the Earth comprises about 8% <a href="http://www.space.com/17777-what-is-earth-made-of.html">aluminium</a>. The lithosphere therefore contains about 70 million billion tons of aluminium. But the main reserves of aluminium are in the ore bauxite, with about 8 billion tons of aluminium, or of the order of one ten-millionth of the resource. So the reserve is a truly minute fraction of the resource, and this is true of many of the non-renewable resources. In contrast, our abuse of many renewable resources involves a significant fraction of the natural reserve.</p>
<p>Aluminium was more costly than gold until an efficient way of producing it from bauxite was discovered in the late <a href="https://doc.research-and-analytics.csfb.com/docView?language=ENG&format=PDF&document_id=901543261&source_id=em&serialid=tKkO3pFei2IPAD9fPG%2F6mrmsM6dNLQlvDdbE5qGTHck%3D">19th century</a>. Since then the price has fallen while the volume produced has soared. This illustrates another feature of non-renewable resources – technology determines their cost, and the larger the volume, the lower the relative cost.</p>
<p>This can be illustrated by the case of copper. In pre-industrial days, a copper resource typically contained about 5% copper, and in today’s money it cost about <a href="https://doc.research-and-analytics.csfb.com/docView?language=ENG&format=PDF&document_id=901543261&source_id=em&serialid=tKkO3pFei2IPAD9fPG%2F6mrmsM6dNLQlvDdbE5qGTHck%3D">$50/kg</a>. A new technology arrived in the 1970s, and today about one-third of all new copper is produced from very low-grade ores by dissolving the copper directly from the crushed rock, then extracting the copper from solution with a special solvent. The price fell to about $2/kg at the beginning of this century, rose sharply to over $8/kg after 2004 and is presently falling back through $4/kg.</p>
<p>So the grade of ore has fallen consistently over the years, and as it has fallen, new technology has been developed to process more from less.</p>
<h2>Cheaper, safer replacements</h2>
<p>Technologies for identifying a potential reserve and quantifying its potential have also evolved enormously. Geological models are continuously being improved, as more and more data are acquired. Physical techniques for identifying geological structures have evolved to a high degree of sophistication. Data processing enables three-dimensional visualisation of the underground. Drilling technology now permits precise sampling of structures hundreds of metres below surface. All these advances have reduced the time to identify a target reserve and reduced the risks inherent in deciding to exploit it.</p>
<p>A final factor in the inexhaustibility of non-renewable reserves is the fact that other materials often emerge to replace them at a lower price. For example, the Roman water distribution system relied on lead piping. It is likely, because lead is a relatively rare metal, that were the world’s plumbing systems still to rely upon lead to the same extent, we would use a large fraction of the resource. Lead would be unaffordable. But, of course, we have learned to use other materials at a fraction of the cost, and simultaneously avoided the health risks. The original reserve of lead may have been too small for our needs, but human ingenuity has avoided what would have seemed to the Romans an unsolvable problem.</p>
<h2>Renewable threat</h2>
<p>So how has it come about that our non-renewable reserves are seemingly inexhaustible? It comes down to the fact that what was exploited made up a very small fraction of the resource. Moreover, advances in the technology of both exploration and extraction meant that the economic reserve could grow – and indeed, actually did grow – even while exploitation was increasing.</p>
<p>In contrast, the fraction of our renewable resources that are being exploited makes up a significant fraction of the total resource, to the extent that there is a loss of species and future generations indeed are threatened.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58814/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Lloyd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Renewable resources are being exploited to the extent that there is a loss of species and future generations are threatened.Philip Lloyd, Research Professor of Energy, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/572202016-04-06T04:32:51Z2016-04-06T04:32:51ZWhy you shouldn’t wrap your food in aluminium foil before cooking it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117274/original/image-20160404-28678-1k9uqe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Proceed with caution when using foil for cooking.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/why-you-shouldnt-wrap-your-food-in-aluminium-foil-before-cooking-it-57220&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p>If you’re baking fish, roasting vegetables or preparing a piece of meat for dinner tonight, chances are that you’ll wrap your food in aluminium foil. What you may not realise is that some of the foil will leach into your meal – and this could be bad for your health.</p>
<p>Research that I conducted with a group of colleagues <a href="http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol7/7054498.pdf">has explored</a> the use of aluminium for cooking and preparing food. Aluminium doesn’t just appear in foil: it is the most popular cookware material used by people in developing countries. Pots and pans are lined with it and it is found in some kitchen utensils like large serving spoons. Copper used to fulfil this role, but over time it’s been replaced by aluminium because it is cheaper to mass produce and easier to clean.</p>
<p>But while cooking your food in aluminium pots or pans isn’t a bad thing, placing it in foil and putting it in the oven is problematic. This is especially true with acidic or spicy food that’s prepared at high temperatures.</p>
<h2>Aluminium and health</h2>
<p>Human bodies can excrete small amounts of aluminium very efficiently. This means that minimal exposure to aluminium is not a problem: the World Health Organisation has <a href="http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v64je01.pdf">established</a> a safe daily intake of 40mg per kilogram of body weight per day. So for a person who weighs 60kg the allowable intake would be 2400 mg.</p>
<p>But most people are exposed to and ingest far more than this suggested safe daily intake. Aluminium is <a href="http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=1076&tid=34">present</a> in corn, yellow cheese, salt, herbs, spices and tea. It’s used in cooking utensils, as described above, as well as in pharmacological agents like antacids and antiperspirants. Aluminium sulfate, which is derived from aluminium, is used as <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11293216">a coagulant</a> during the purification process of drinking water.</p>
<p>Scientists are exploring whether over-exposure to aluminium may be posing threats to human health. For instance, high concentrations of aluminium have been <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056430/">detected</a> in the brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists have examined the community of old people with Alzheimer’s and <a href="http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/42/1/3.abstract">concluded</a> that it is a modern disease that’s developed from altered living conditions associated with society’s industrialisation. These conditions may include high levels of aluminium in daily life. </p>
<p>Aluminium poses other health risks, too. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2614472">Studies</a> have suggested that high aluminium intake may be harmful to some patients with bone diseases or renal impairment. It also <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969700008925">reduces the growth rate</a> of human brain cells. </p>
<h2>Avoid foil when cooking</h2>
<p>Given all of these proven risks, it’s important to determine the aluminium concentration when cooking. Pots and other cookware tend to be <a href="http://www.corrosionpro.com/blog/the-oxidation-of-aluminum/">oxidised</a>, providing an inert layer that prevents the aluminium from leaching into food. The problem is that when you scrub your pots after cooking, that layer is worn away and the aluminium can seep into your food. This is easily avoided: when you get new aluminium pots, boil water in them several times until the base becomes matt. This creates a natural oxidation that prevents leaching. They may look nicer when they’re scrubbed and shiny, but a matt base is better for your food and your health.</p>
<p>But cooking your food in foil is a different story. Aluminium foil is disposable and you will not be able to create that inert layer prior to using it. My research found that the migration of aluminium into food during the cooking process of food wrapped in aluminium foil is <a href="http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol7/7054498.pdf">above the permissible limit</a> set by the World Health Organisation.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Ghada Bassioni explains the research she and her colleagues conducted.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Aluminium is significantly more likely to leach into food, and at higher levels, in acidic and liquid food solutions like lemon and tomato juice than in those containing alcohol or salt. Leaching levels climb even more when spice is added to food that’s cooked in aluminium foil. Anything acidic sparks a particularly aggressive process that dissolves layers of aluminium into food.</p>
<p>This research suggests that aluminium foil should not be used for cooking. Instead, we’d recommend using glassware or porcelain when preparing baked dishes. It’s safe to wrap cold food in foil, though not for long stretches of time because food has a shelf life and because aluminium in the foil will begin to leach into the food depending on ingredients like spices.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57220/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ghada Bassioni does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While cooking food in aluminium pots isn’t a bad thing, doing so in foil is problematic. Over-exposure to aluminium may pose serious threats to human health.Ghada Bassioni, Professor and Head of the Chemistry Divison, Ain Shams UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/413582015-06-02T20:03:40Z2015-06-02T20:03:40ZThe battery revolution is exciting, but remember they pollute too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83334/original/image-20150529-12380-1twwe1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C150%2C1592%2C902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Batteries can cut carbon emissions, but mining the metals and other resources needed to make them can be a dirty business.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jon Seb Barber/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-winners-and-losers-in-teslas-battery-plan-for-the-home-41151">unveiling</a> by Tesla founder Elon Musk of the low-cost <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall">Powerwall</a> storage battery is the latest in a series of exciting advances in battery technologies for electric cars and domestic electricity generation. </p>
<p>We have also seen the development of an <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/new-inexpensive-aluminum-ion-battery-set-to-outlast-competitors/article23829686/">aluminium-ion battery</a> that may be safer, lighter and cheaper than the lithium-ion batteries used by Tesla and most other auto and technology companies. </p>
<p>These advances are exciting for two main reasons. First, the cost of energy storage, in the form of batteries, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/battery-costs-drop-even-faster-as-electric-car-sales-continue-to-rise-39780">decreasing significantly</a>. This makes electric vehicle ownership and home energy storage much more attainable. </p>
<p>The second, related reason is that these cheaper green technologies may make the transition to a greener economy <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-batteries-for-green-energy-are-closer-than-we-think-28772">easier and faster</a> than we have so far imagined (although, as has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-storage-is-crucial-but-its-not-the-only-piece-in-the-puzzle-41226">recently pointed out on The Conversation</a>, these technologies are only one piece of the overall energy puzzle). </p>
<h2>Beware the industrial option</h2>
<p>These technological advances, and much of the excitement around them, lend themselves to the idea that solving environmental problems such as climate change is primarily a case of technological adjustment. But this approach encourages a strategy of “superindustrialisation”, in which technology and industry are brought to bear to resolve climate change, through resource efficiency, waste reduction and pollution control. In this context, the green economy is presented as an inevitable green technological <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/27077390@N00/4443967070/">economic wave</a>. </p>
<p>But the prospect of this green economic wave needs to be considered within a wider environmental and social context, which makes solving the problems much more complex. Let’s take electric vehicles as an example. </p>
<p>The ecological damage of cars, electric or otherwise, is partly due to the fact that the car industry generates more than 3 million tonnes of <a href="https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/greening-the-car-industry?___website=uk_warehouse">scrap and waste</a> every year. In 2009, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jan/06/us-cars-sales-record-low">14 million cars</a> were scrapped in the United States alone. </p>
<p>The number of cars operating in the world is expected to climb from the <a href="http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2010213">current 896 million to 1.2 billion</a> by 2020. The infrastructure associated with growing vehicle use, particularly roads, also makes a significant contribution to the destruction of ecosystems and arguably has important social costs.</p>
<p>Electric vehicles (EVs) offer a substantial greenhouse gas emission improvement from the internal combustion engine. However, this improvement depends on green electricity production. </p>
<p>An EV powered by average European electricity production is likely to reduce a vehicle’s global warming potential by <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00532.x/full">about 20%</a> over its life cycle. This is not insignificant, but it is nowhere near a zero-emission option. </p>
<p>In large part, the life-cycle emissions of an electric vehicle are due to the energy-intensive nature of battery production and the associated mining processes. Indeed, there are questions around battery production and resource depletion, but perhaps more concerning is the impact that mining lithium and other materials for the growing battery economy, such as <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-14/teslas-in-california-help-bring-dirty-rain-to-china">graphite</a>, will have on the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261911008580">health of workers and communities</a> involved in this global production network. </p>
<p>Processes associated with lithium batteries may produce adverse respiratory, pulmonary and neurological <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-01/documents/lithium_batteries_lca.pdf">health impacts</a>. Pollution from graphite mining in China has resulted in reports of “<a href="http://www.miningweekly.com/article/chinese-flake-graphite-consolidation-could-alter-global-supply-structure-2014-04-17">graphite rain</a>”, which is significantly impacting local air and water quality. </p>
<p>The production of green technologies creates many interesting contradictions between environmental benefits at the point of use, versus human and environmental costs at the production end. Baoding, a Chinese city southwest of Beijing, has been labelled the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/baoding-greenest-carbon-positive-city-in-the-world-2011-6">greenest city in the world</a> or the world’s only carbon-positive city. This is because Boading produces enormous quantities of wind turbines and solar cells for the United States and Europe, and has about 170 alternative energy companies based there. </p>
<p>But last year the air in the city of Baoding was <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/02/02/say-hello-to-chinas-new-most-polluted-city-baoding/">declared</a> to be the most polluted in China – a country where air quality <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324010704578418343148947824">reportedly contributes to 1.2 million deaths each year</a>. These impacts need to be placed into any discussion or policy frameworks when exploring the shift to a “greener” future.</p>
<h2>Beware new problems from new solutions</h2>
<p>We should be excited about the shift to greener cars and affordable home electricity storage units, but in the process of starting to solve the technological challenges of climate change we must ensure that we are not creating environmental problems, particularly for the largely unseen workers and communities further up the production stream. </p>
<p>Our response to climate change needs to be more than just a technological adjustment. <a href="http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/201409256996/research/green-jobs-sustainable-future">We argue</a> that the shift to a green economy requires more transformative social political actions via skills and training, worker participation, and the coming together of environmental organisations, unions, business and government. </p>
<p>Indeed, the world of work is a critical site for emission reductions: 80% of Europe’s carbon emissions are <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@publ/documents/publication/wcms_168163.pdf">workplace-related</a>. </p>
<p>As we adopt emerging greener technologies, we will have to look beyond our shiny new Powerwall, or the electric car parked on the front drive, to ensure that the environmental and social changes promised by green technologies are not just illusions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caleb Goods receives funding from York University and the Canadian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carla Lipsig-Mumme receives research funding for the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).</span></em></p>The advent of battery storage heralds an even deeper embrace of electric cars and renewable energy. But amid the green tech revolution, we should be wary of creating new pollution problems.Caleb Goods, Postdoctoral research fellow, York University, CanadaCarla Lipsig-Mummé, Professor of Work and Labour Studies, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/231352014-02-18T02:48:30Z2014-02-18T02:48:30ZAustralian aluminium outgunned by cheap, coal-free global rivals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41739/original/2bt4z2cr-1392683487.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C30%2C3328%2C2198&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Alcoa is to close its Point Henry smelter in Geelong.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Alcoa’s decision to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-18/aluminium-producer-alcoa-confirms-decision-to-close-point-henry/5266330">close the Point Henry smelter</a>, at a cost of almost 1000 jobs in Geelong and elsewhere, comes amid a perfect storm buffeting Australia’s aluminium industry.</p>
<p>Point Henry will be the second of Australia’s <a href="http://aluminium.org.au/australian-aluminium/australian-aluminium">six aluminium smelters</a> to close, after the demise of Kurri Kurri in 2012.</p>
<p>Implications for the industry, its workers and local communities are grave, and the situation is piling pressure onto state and federal governments already reeling from the shrinkage of other Australian manufacturing sectors. Where did it all go wrong?</p>
<h2>A formerly world-class industry</h2>
<p>The aluminium story weaves together three distinct plots. The first is one of an industry based on world-scale bauxite deposits, that built what were once world-class refineries and smelters, and at its peak employed more than 17,000 people. However, raw reserves are never enough and the Australian industry has seen the global sector change around it, with economies of scale achieved by offshore competitors throwing down a tough cost challenge. </p>
<p>The second plot is a classic study in government industry assistance that was once seen as sound strategic policy, but now looks like just another subsidy for an unsustainable industry. </p>
<p>The third and most recent plot revolves around the global challenge of climate change that means an electricity-hungry product like aluminium becomes a villain in countries where electricity generation is particularly emissions-intensive.</p>
<h2>A question of competitiveness</h2>
<p>Aluminium is produced in two stages: first, bauxite ore is refined into alumina, and this alumina is then smelted to produce aluminium. Alumina refineries tend to be located close to the resource, and Australia’s refineries are generally well-located and commercially competitive. The recent exception is at Rio Tinto’s Gove refinery in the Northern Territory, which will <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-19/rio-tinto-gove-refinery-to-close-in-july/5167992">close this year</a> after struggling with a move from high-cost oil to an alternative such as gas.</p>
<p>For Australia’s smelters, the logistics are different. The raw material, alumina, can be transported relatively cheaply around the world. Aluminium smelting uses huge amounts of electricity, so the cost of that electricity is a key factor in the competitiveness of a smelter. Although China dominates global production, Australia has been among the top five producers in recent years. </p>
<p>When Australia’s smelters were built they benefited from very cheap, long-term electricity agreements with government-owned power companies. These smelters were paying around half to two-thirds of the price paid by other large industrial electricity consumers. The result for aluminium producers was they could be in the top half or even the top quarter in terms of global cost-effectiveness.</p>
<p>In recent years, there have been big – and generally bad – changes. First, global aluminium prices have been sliding since early 2011, threatening the viability of those producers that were struggling to keep costs down. Second, liberalisation of Australia’s electricity market has meant the end of subsidised power contracts. Market-based electricity prices push even the best-performing of Australia’s smelters out of the top 25% of global competitiveness.</p>
<h2>The impact of carbon pricing</h2>
<p>And then there is climate change. With the exception of <a href="http://aluminium.org.au/australian-aluminium/aluminium-bellbay">Bell Bay</a> in Tasmania, which <a href="http://www.examiner.com.au/story/157260/new-power-deal-saves-500-jobs-at-smelter/">uses hydro power</a>, Australia’s smelters produce 15-20 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of aluminium because their electricity comes from fossil fuels, mainly coal. This is two to three times the global average. A carbon price of A$20-30 per tonne has a noticeable impact. </p>
<p>Around the world, newly-built smelters have used gas, hydro, geothermal or nuclear power, with low or near-zero emissions. New production has also been targeted to places such as the Middle East, Canada and Iceland with lower electricity prices because there are relatively few alternative uses for the electricity. </p>
<p>This means that arguments to protect Australia’s aluminium from carbon pricing, based on the idea that the emissions will leak to another country, are likely to be wrong. The emissions may well be driven overseas by cheaper pricing, but those emissions are also likely to be significantly reduced as a result.</p>
<p>Together, these factors drive Australia’s smelters into the bottom 25% of global competitiveness.</p>
<h2>A bleak future</h2>
<p>With two of Australia’s six smelters now gone, what are the ramifications if the other four follow suit? For the electricity sector, which is already under pressure from falling demand, losing a customer base representing around 15% of the market would be a big blow. </p>
<p>As the global aluminium market further evolves and climate change policies become serious, the viability of aluminium smelting in Australia looks challenging. There are clear consequences for a sector that directly employs around 4,500 people and generates some A$5 billion in exports. </p>
<p>An intriguing alternative picture was painted by the <a href="http://www.garnautreview.org.au/2008-review.html">2008 Garnaut Climate Change Review</a>. A long-term positive future could emerge for aluminium production in Australia if rising carbon prices drive a low-cost, emissions-free electricity supply sector in Australia. </p>
<p>But in the context of current climate change politics, with carbon pricing set to be repealed and the Renewable Energy Target now <a href="https://theconversation.com/renewables-inquiry-leader-vows-open-mind-on-targets-future-23305">under review</a>, this prospect seems frustratingly far away.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Wood owns shares in Origin Energy directly, and a range of Australian and international equities via superannuation.</span></em></p>Alcoa’s decision to close the Point Henry smelter, at a cost of almost 1000 jobs in Geelong and elsewhere, comes amid a perfect storm buffeting Australia’s aluminium industry. Point Henry will be the second…Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/87992013-03-24T19:04:45Z2013-03-24T19:04:45ZDoes aluminium cause Alzheimer’s and breast cancer?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21651/original/rggk7rqd-1363930063.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The vast majority of us will never be exposed to aluminium in high enough concentrations to do damage.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ezioman/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Silvery, ductile, malleable and so very, very useful, aluminium is the most common metal in the Earth’s crust. But despite its importance (or perhaps because of it), there are fears that this metal causes everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease.</p>
<p>From aircraft to tableware, aluminium forms an important and ubiquitous part of our lives. It’s so common now, in fact, that it’s difficult to believe that, at one stage, metallic aluminium was so hard to make that having aluminium plates was a symbol of wealth. </p>
<p>But as it has become more commonplace, aluminium’s safety profile has come into question, with particular emphasis on <a href="http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/ijlink?linkType=FULL&journalCode=jnci&resid=92/18/1469">aluminium in antiperspirants</a>. The evidence for its supposed harms is weak, if not non-existent.</p>
<p>Yes, aluminium can be toxic, but in the spirit of <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-named-your-column-what-6072">my blog’s patron</a>, remember it’s the dose that makes the poison. </p>
<p>The metal’s toxic effects can be seen in people working at aluminium smelters or those who have had similar industrial exposures with inadequate workplace safety measures. People on dialysis who have been exposed to higher than normal aluminium levels in their dialysis fluid also show a range of adverse effects, including damage to the brain and the nervous system. </p>
<p>And you can show neurotoxic effects in animals at lower (but still substantial) concentrations, if you inject aluminium directly into the brain. But the vast majority of us will never be exposed to such high concentrations of aluminium as in these cases. Our exposures will come from drinking water, food, antacid tablets and rubbing antiperspirant with aluminium on our skin. </p>
<p>The aluminium we’re exposed to in these ways is in the form of aluminium salts. These salts are surprisingly hard to get into the body; only <a href="http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/14871578/reload=0;jsessionid=qKechXjYOfuu6BUAy8As.0">0.1% of ingested aluminium</a> is absorbed into the body. </p>
<p>Skin absorption is also <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0162013412000578">quite weak</a> and skin absorption of aluminium from antiperspirants contributes <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691500001186">to less than 3%</a> of blood levels of aluminium (the rest comes from gut absorption). So you need to go to some effort to get toxic levels of aluminium from these sources.</p>
<p>Indeed, according to the results of long-term animal studies you need to consume <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306452211005409">around 10,000 times</a> the amount of aluminium in our water supplies to see the beginnings of neurotoxicity. Even if you were chewing antacids every day while rubbing antiperspirants all over yourself, you would still not have enough aluminium in your system to suffer from neurotoxicity. </p>
<p>So, while animal studies are all very well, is there any evidence from humans that our modest consumption of aluminium over long periods of time is toxic?</p>
<h2>Alzheimer’s disease</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14582/original/65n6y66t-1345728180.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14582/original/65n6y66t-1345728180.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14582/original/65n6y66t-1345728180.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14582/original/65n6y66t-1345728180.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14582/original/65n6y66t-1345728180.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14582/original/65n6y66t-1345728180.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/14582/original/65n6y66t-1345728180.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beta amyloid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Musgrave via Jmol</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A common misconception about aluminium is that it causes Alzheimer’s disease. And since a large chunk of <a href="http://peer.ccsd.cnrs.fr/docs/00/56/27/46/PDF/PEER_stage2_10.1016%252Fj.bbadis.2006.12.001.pdf">my research</a> is on finding treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, I have a bit of insight into such claims. </p>
<p>Some very early studies suggested that there was <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10937400701597766">more aluminium</a> in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease than those without. Almost immediately, people selling stainless steel cookware seized on this result to promote their pots over aluminium ones (we were buying new cookware at this time, and I had some interesting discussions with these people).</p>
<p>Aluminium is rather hard to measure at the low levels that are in the brain, and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10937400701597766">later studies with better methods</a> failed to find elevated aluminium levels in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Actually, there’s good evidence the positive results were <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304394097009403">due to contamination</a>. </p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find increased aluminium in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers. There’s an accumulation of a toxic protein called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_amyloid">beta amyloid</a> in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. This protein binds metals including aluminium, but it binds copper, zinc and iron more strongly. In part, this binding of copper and zinc contributes to the protein’s toxicity. Despite significant amounts of copper in the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2517409/?tool=pmcentrez">accumulated amyloid in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s</a> however, there’s no evidence that high levels of copper exposure increase the disease’s incidence. </p>
<p>What’s more, people on dialysis who are exposed to much higher concentrations of aluminium than most people for long periods of time <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11307619">don’t have a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s disease</a> than people not on dialysis.</p>
<p>So, aluminium and Alzheimer’s disease, no.</p>
<h2>Breast cancer</h2>
<p>In breast cancer, the upper outer quadrant of the breast is more likely to be the site where tumours first appear than anywhere else. Since this quadrant is closest to the lymphatic drainage from the armpit, people have leapt to the conclusion that aluminium from application of antiperspirants is the culprit. </p>
<p>But the incidence of tumours is directly related to the amount of breast tissue, and that quadrant happens to have the most breast tissue. </p>
<p>Epidemiological data is rather sparse, but what little there is makes the aluminium-breast cancer link unlikely. <a href="http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/94/20/1578.full">A 2002 study found no correlation</a> between aluminium containing antiperspirant use and breast cancer. A <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18829420">more recent meta-analysis</a> found few high-quality studies, but those they found showed no evidence of an antiperspirant link to breast cancer. </p>
<p>So, aluminium and breast cancer, highly unlikely.</p>
<p>Alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer are devastating to both those who develop the diseases and their families. Everyone involved wants to know why these diseases strike. These are complex diseases, with complex and still poorly understood causes, but we can be pretty certain that the aluminium in antiperspirants is not one of those causes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/8799/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Musgrave receives funding from the Australian Research Council, and has previously been funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. Some of this funding was to investigate treatments for neurodegenerative disease. </span></em></p>Silvery, ductile, malleable and so very, very useful, aluminium is the most common metal in the Earth’s crust. But despite its importance (or perhaps because of it), there are fears that this metal causes…Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72452012-05-25T01:09:56Z2012-05-25T01:09:56ZThe trouble with aluminium<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11045/original/c22zkknt-1337904858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian researchers are looking for ways to reduce the energy consumption of aluminium smelting.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian aluminium industry is in the doldrums. A high dollar, low prices and Asian competition are <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/threat-to-smelters-sparks-power-alarm/story-e6frg6xf-1226366237935">threatening the industry</a>, with older plants in New South Wales and Victoria under threat of closure.</p>
<p>The debate about the future of the industry often concentrates on the high energy usage associated with aluminium production. The joke description of aluminium as “congealed electricity” is never far away.</p>
<p>It is true that a lot of energy is required to make Aluminium. CSIRO calculate that the embodied energy (all the energy used to make the material) for aluminium is 211 GJ per tonne, compared to 22.7 GJ per tonne for steel. This huge difference in overall energy required to produce the metal helps explain the enormous difference in the scales of the two industries: last year, nearly 1500 million tonnes of steel was made in the world compared to 40 million tonnes of aluminium.</p>
<p>Of course, aluminium is over three times lighter than steel, which means that energy savings can be made over the lifetime of the metal’s use if aluminium replaces steel in transport. Also, the overall energy picture looks much healthier if your energy source is hydroelectricity. </p>
<p>Some argue that only countries with hydroelectricity should make aluminium. I would argue that would not be a very healthy economic solution for Australia and would reduce us to being a supplier of raw materials. I also think this analysis underplays the environmental impact of dams and ignores the part aluminium smelters play in providing consistent base loads for power generation. In many countries around the world, aluminium smelters provide the impetus for construction of power stations, as the investors know that the smelter will provide 24 hour base load, 365 days per year.</p>
<h2>Why is so much energy required to make aluminium?</h2>
<p>In simple terms, the strength of the chemical bond between aluminium and oxygen is significantly stronger than the same bond between iron and oxygen. As a result, much more energy is required to split the bond and form the metal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11047/original/t48dggc5-1337905162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11047/original/t48dggc5-1337905162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11047/original/t48dggc5-1337905162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11047/original/t48dggc5-1337905162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11047/original/t48dggc5-1337905162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11047/original/t48dggc5-1337905162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11047/original/t48dggc5-1337905162.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Energy-intensive to make, aluminium can save energy when it’s used to make lightweight, fuel-reducing transport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kevin McDonnell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is another complication that makes the situation worse: the relative chemical stability of the two oxides (alumina and iron oxide) and carbon monoxide. Above around 700°C, oxygen prefers to be bonded with carbon than with iron. This means that if you put coal or charcoal with iron ore above 700°C, you can make metallic iron. This discovery was one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of the human race and underpins a large proportion of the Australian economy, as Australia is blessed with plentiful and rich sources of iron oxide and carbon (coal). </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is not the case for aluminium oxide. The same reaction needs around 2000°C before metal is made. And, in fact, at that temperature a lot of aluminium carbide and vapour - waste products - is also made. As you can imagine, operating a furnace at 2000°C with poor yield is not attractive and this route for making aluminium has never taken off. Alcoa is currently trying to develop this route but it is unclear whether the “carbothermic route” to aluminium will ever be economically feasible.</p>
<p>Aluminium is made by dissolving the oxide into molten salts, at around a more modest 960°C, and applying a current to help break down the oxide. This is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall%E2%80%93H%C3%A9roult_process">Hall-Heroult</a> process, which dominates world aluminium production at the moment. The process typically loses around 50% of the incoming energy as low grade heat, which is due in part to the fact that the salts required to dissolve the oxide are so corrosive that there no practical way to keep the heat in. There are also great challenges in the anode and cathode technology in the Hall-Heroult process that result in large resistance losses.</p>
<p>In general, high temperature electrolytic routes for making metals are the last resort for a metal producer. They suffer from low productivity and relatively high energy losses compared to standard pyrometallurgical processes. The aluminium industry would love to have the equivalent of the modern ironmaking blast furnace, which can produce around 3 million tonnes of metal per year in a small fraction of the volume, compared to the many acres of Hall-Heroult cells required to produce that much metal.</p>
<h2>What can be done to lower the energy consumption of aluminium production?</h2>
<p>A combination of breakthroughs in materials science, developing advanced control systems and straight-out innovation could make a big difference. I and other researchers around the world have identified existing research projects, if developed and commercialised, could reduce the energy by up to 25% of current usage. </p>
<p>For example, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Wollongong and CSIRO are currently working on new refractory materials that can withstand the corrosive conditions of the Hall-Heroult process and <a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/engineering/htp/presentations/MukhlisBrooksRhamdhaniSidewallTMS2010.pdf">keep the heat in</a>. Excellent progress is being made, and if successfully commercialised these materials could make a serious dent into the 25% overall reduction goal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11046/original/58m6vcs5-1337904929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/11046/original/58m6vcs5-1337904929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11046/original/58m6vcs5-1337904929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11046/original/58m6vcs5-1337904929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11046/original/58m6vcs5-1337904929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11046/original/58m6vcs5-1337904929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/11046/original/58m6vcs5-1337904929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Promoting Australian innovation in low-energy aluminium would be good for Australian jobs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the University of New South Wales, new anode materials are being investigated that would allow resistance losses in the circuit to be lowered, as well as advanced control systems that are <a href="http://www.ceic.unsw.edu.au/processcontrol/processcontrol.htm">being trialled in collaboration</a> with industry by Associate Professor Jie Bao. Joint research at Swinburne University of Technology and CSIRO is looking to <a href="http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Mineral-Resources/Metal-Production/High-Energy.aspx">reduce resistance losses</a> in the cells using new designs and computational modelling of the electrical contacts. Mr David Molenaar at CSIRO has developed a unique laboratory system for testing new anode designs.</p>
<p>Even more radical research at University of Auckland and Swinburne University of Technology is looking to “bulldoze” the current technology and bypass the problems of the carbothermic route by developing new chemistry to crack this old chestnut. <a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/engineering/staff/akbar-rhamdhani/">Dr Rhamdhani</a> (Swinburne) and his team are investigating thsulphur route, whilst, Professor <a href="http://www.ecm.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/our-research/research-areas/energyandenvironment">Mark Taylor’s team</a> (Auckland) are looking seriously at a chloride chemistry route.</p>
<p>All of this research, and other projects around the world, are focused on lowering the energy associated with aluminium production. Naturally enough, I would like to see Australia take the lead on these developments. </p>
<p>The current business environment appears to be very negative. But opportunities for innovation abound in times of crisis. Given Australia’s great natural advantages in terms of raw materials, I see some light at the end of the tunnel.</p>
<p>The time to innovate has arrived.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/7245/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoffrey Brooks receives funding from CSIRO for fundamental work on Aluminium production and leads the Breakthrough Technologies for Primary Aluminium Production Cluster. Professor Brooks is funded for fundamental work in steel production and metal recycling from a number of companies.</span></em></p>The Australian aluminium industry is in the doldrums. A high dollar, low prices and Asian competition are threatening the industry, with older plants in New South Wales and Victoria under threat of closure…Geoffrey Brooks, Professor of Engineering, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/52892012-02-09T04:21:04Z2012-02-09T04:21:04ZThe solutions to Alcoa’s problems may lie in its backyard<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/7507/original/2h444szj-1328756433.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C11%2C946%2C633&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With Alcoa reviewing its Geelong smelter, just what is the future for the aluminium industry?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The sight of molten metal pouring from a furnace has long been an iconic symbol of industrial might and wealth. </p>
<p>In Australia, the metallurgical industries have provided long term jobs and wealth to many communities. In some cases, this wealth generation has also been associated with unacceptable environmental damage, however, those problems are now largely historical, as furnace technology and practices have advanced greatly since the 1960s.</p>
<p>However, the industry is now under real threat in this country, not from angry environmentalists, but from the recent growth and investment in mining in Australia, which largely reflects the extraordinary industrial expansion of China. </p>
<p>These two combined forces are now placing tremendous pressure on Australia’s metallurgical industry, as the demand for ore drives up the dollar, making it very difficult for our aluminium, steel and other base metal producers to compete in the global economy.</p>
<p>This dilemma is especially apparent in Geelong, where recent announcements from Alcoa are casting doubt about the future of the Point Henry aluminium smelter. This plant is particularly vulnerable because of its age, scale and product mix. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/7504/original/cxs2h6js-1328756083.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C37%2C981%2C1451&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/7504/original/cxs2h6js-1328756083.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/7504/original/cxs2h6js-1328756083.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/7504/original/cxs2h6js-1328756083.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/7504/original/cxs2h6js-1328756083.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/7504/original/cxs2h6js-1328756083.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/7504/original/cxs2h6js-1328756083.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sustainable practices might ensure a long-term future for Australia’s aluminium industry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
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<p>The Point Henry works started operating in 1963, and though it has improved energy efficiency and productivity with time, its electrolytic cells are comparatively small and have higher energy usage compared to new, larger smelters in the Middle East and China. </p>
<p>Over 50% of the plant’s 190,000 tonne per annum capacity is directed towards export and historically Alcoa’s two Victorian smelters have been the state’s largest exporter earners. </p>
<p>The potential closure of the Point Henry works would not only be a major financial setback to Geelong, but to Victoria as a whole. The Point Henry plant also has significant advantages over other aluminium plants in the world, such as good infrastructure, a well trained workforce, stable electricity supply, good environmental standards and direct connection to local industries. </p>
<p>Worldwide, Alcoa has recently closed plants in Italy, Spain and the United States, as it tries to rationalise its operation around the world and compete more effectively. In this context, a “review” is good news and an opportunity for government bodies in Australia to take stock and work with Alcoa to find a better future.</p>
<p>On the other side of the ledger, the two smelters also consume approximately 20% of the state’s electricity supply and so they also represent large contributions to the State’s greenhouse gas generation. Industry experts are somewhat divided on how important the carbon tax is to Alcoa’s thinking. </p>
<p>Certainly, in the short term, the high Australian dollar and strong competition from Asia and the Middle East in the export market are the greatest threats, whereas the structure of the new tax, and its rebates for energy intensive industries like aluminium, means that its effects will be delayed. The Australian Aluminium Council has argued that the carbon will adversely affect medium to long term investment strategies of companies.</p>
<p>I believe that as a nation we should be more proactively engaging with this industry. Australia has great natural resources for aluminium production, good infrastructure and world class scientific know-how to improve the situation in our favour. It is clear to many researchers in this field that using lots of energy to make relatively low grade products is not a winning strategy. </p>
<p>The long-term route to wealth for a country like Australia is to develop metallurgical industries where the products are quite distinguishable in terms of quality and value from what is being produced in Asia. In this scenario, lowering the energy use and overall greenhouse gas generation will only work to make the industry more sustainable. </p>
<p>Ironically, the knowledge to make these changes is right in Point Henry’s backyard, as there is top class research into aluminium production, products and properties at Deakin, Swinburne and Monash Universities, as well as the CSIRO laboratories in Melbourne. </p>
<p>For example, new materials for limiting energy losses from the aluminium process are under development at<a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/engineering/htp/"> Swinburne</a>. New alloys and composite materials are being researched at <a href="http://www.eng.monash.edu.au/materials/research/centres/lightmetals/">Monash</a> and <a href="http://www.deakin.edu.au/itri/cmfi/">Deakin</a>. <a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/engineering/staff/akbar-rhamdhani/">Dr Akbar Rhamdhani</a> at Swinburne is working with <a href="http://eng.monash.edu.au/materials/about/people/profile/eastonma">Dr Mark Easton</a> at Monash to find ways to make very high purity aluminium. I personally head up a <a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine/8/150/bid-to-keep-aluminium-shining/">national consortium</a> of Australasian Universities working with CSIRO on breakthrough technology for Aluminium production. Greater engagement from government and industry with such research bodies is required, if a more positive scenario is to be followed.</p>
<p>In the short term, I suspect that “survival” will be the strategy pursued by government and the metallurgical industry in this country. In the medium to long term, I suggest that innovation coupled with sustainability, is where we need to be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/5289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoffrey Brooks receives funding from CSIRO for work of relevance to this article.</span></em></p>The sight of molten metal pouring from a furnace has long been an iconic symbol of industrial might and wealth. In Australia, the metallurgical industries have provided long term jobs and wealth to many…Geoffrey Brooks, Professor of Engineering, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.