Construction on Australia’s first commercial-scale high purity alumina facility is underway, with first production expected in the second half of 2026.
High purity alumina, which must consist of more than 99.99 per cent aluminium oxide, can be used in the production of semiconductors and lithium-ion batteries, making it a key input to the global energy transition.
Stage two of the AlphaHPA alumina refinery in Gladstone, Queensland will use locally developed IP to increase the facility’s annual output by 10,000 tonnes per year, which the the company said will make it the world’s largest single-site refinery for the mineral.
AlphaHPA is supported by $400 million in federal government loans intended to increase local production of value-added minerals.
The technology deployed at stage two of the facility can lower the total carbon emissions of the high purity alumina refining process by up to 70 per cent, according to the company.
At a breaking ground ceremony on Tuesday, AlphaHPA managing director Rimas Kairaitis said the start of stage two construction “underscores our commitment to innovation and excellence but also solidifies our position as a global leader in ultra-high-purity aluminium materials”.
“We are proud to leverage our Australian-owned and developed process IP in creating a state-of-the-art facility to service high technology electronics industries, that are so important in the energy transition,” Mr Kairaitis said.
In April, the Albanese government committed a $400 million loan to AlphaHPA under the $4 billion Critical Minerals Loan Facility administered by Export Finance Australia. In July 2023, the Queensland government also awarded $21.7 million to support stage two development.
The company has also raised $180 million in equity, including significant support from mining explosives manufacturer Orica, which holds a five percent stake in AlphaHPA.
A final investment decision was announced in May following three years of product marketing and almost 18 months of stage one operations.
Commonwealth support for AlphaHPA’s Gladstone facility is part of the Critical Minerals Strategy ambition to “increase Australia’s footprint in downstream processing” of critical minerals.
Australia is currently the world’s largest exporter of alumina — aluminium oxide — but does not currently produce commercial quantities of high purity alumina.
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