Smelters around the globe are doing this already. Rio Tinto operates one in New Zealand to help manage seasonal hydro flows for example.
In Australia the same firm is vocal that unless the local area moves from coal to renewables they won't hit price points that are competitive on the global market.
The four aluminium smelters in Australia consume 10% of the nation’s electricity and produce close to 5% of total emissions.
Smelting is so energy intensive that in many countries, it has driven the construction of new fossil fuel power plants.
That’s why it’s nicknamed “congealed electricity”.
This week, the federal government proposed a new policy aimed at making aluminium smelting green.
