Environmentalists for restarting aluminum smelters?
Why the best way to decarbonize means more aluminum jobs in the US
BY ANNIE SARTOR
Three Industrious Ideas
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“Why would a group working to fight climate change be in favor of restarting an aluminum smelter?”
A journalist posed this question to me earlier this year while covering the effort by environmental, labor, and national security advocates to restart the Intalco Works smelter in Washington state, left shuttered two years ago. The simple reason: while aluminum can be very carbon-intensive, there is a pathway to position low-carbon aluminum as a key material for our sustainable future.
Technology is itself a neutral force. If we actively engage with it, we can direct it, mold it, and apply it productively for our organizations and for society.
Some background: Primary aluminum is aluminum produced from mined ore. While primary aluminum is much more energy intensive than recycled (or secondary) aluminum, because demand for aluminum is forecast to grow substantially in coming decades, the world needs to produce substantial amounts of primary aluminum to meet demand.
There are two primary aluminums: one dirty, one clean. Because the significant majority of emissions from the primary aluminum industry are emissions related to energy use, the carbon intensity of primary aluminum varies substantially. A metric ton of primary aluminum produced with hydroelectricity releases about 4 metric tons of CO2e. Meanwhile, a metric ton of primary aluminum made with coal-fired electricity releases 18-20 metric tons of CO2e, more than three times more.
In the United States, the primary aluminum industry is facing a crisis point, as reliance on short-term power contracts and volatile energy markets have put 40% of smelting capacity at “imminent risk” of closure.
And, five of the remaining six US aluminum smelters that rely on fossil fuels for energy face risks of curtailment. The Intalco Works smelter, if restarted, would operate with renewable energy and produce low-carbon “green” aluminum - and clearly demonstrate a future for decarbonized domestic primary aluminum production.
Our aluminum campaign aims to save the primary aluminum industry in the United States by setting it on a path to decarbonize. Restarting the Intalco smelter in Washington, and re-powering our domestic primary aluminum smelters to operate with renewable energy will preserve family-supporting jobs, reduce local pollution, shorten supply chains, and ensure that US-produced aluminum is globally competitive as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy.
And, five of the remaining six US aluminum smelters that rely on fossil fuels for energy face risks of curtailment. The Intalco Works smelter, if restarted, would operate with renewable energy and produce low-carbon “green” aluminum - and clearly demonstrate a future for decarbonized domestic primary aluminum production.
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