UK aluminium industry in crisis
17 Sep 2009
Aluminium production in the UK is in crisis with a distinct possibility that manufacture will stop completely in the not-too-distant future.
By Tim Tunbridge, contributing editor, Process Engineering
Aluminium production in the UK is in crisis with a distinct possibility that manufacture will stop completely in the not-too-distant future.
One leading producer, Anglesey Aluminium Metal (AAM), based in Holyhead, is shutting its plant at the end of September with the loss of some 390 jobs. It blames the closure on failure to secure a new contract for an estimated 255MW of cheap electricity with the nearby Wylfa power station.
The major UK plant is the Alcan operation in Lynemouth, Northumberland, which employs 630 people and was recently visited by Gordon Brown. Its future is being put in doubt as its adjoining 420MW coal-fired power station fails to meet the EU’s Large Combustion Plants directive and owner Rio Tinto says it does not have the funding to commit to carbon capture and storage technology.
AAM and its joint venture partners Rio Tinto Alcan (51%) and Kaiser Aluminium (49%) say they have assessed a number of alternative solutions, including negotiation with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to try and extend its existing contract at Wylfa. However, in the current economic climate and with no firm power contract it has no option but to close the plant, which has capacity for 144kt of annually.
A remelt business has started at the AAM site using the existing casting facilities and this has created approximately 80 jobs. Also, a feasibility study for a large-scale renewable power project at the site continues.
At Lynemouth, Rio Tinto told the Prime Minister it has been at the forefront of the development of CCS technology, but will not commit funding to such a major project. As an alternative to company funding, it hopes to secure EU cash so as to demonstrate its CCS capability.
