Anne Urquhart, Chris Bowen and Rob Davies at the Railton site. Image: Chris Bowen MP/Facebook
Cement Australia was one of the main beneficiaries of the latest round of Federal Government investment in improving its Railton facility in Tasmania.
The $52 million funding will enable the company to upgrade its kiln to use alternative fuel sources instead of coal when making clinker and cement. This change will reduce Cement Australia’s carbon emissions at the century-old site.
Cement Australia chief executive and managing director Rob Davies spoke to the media about the benefits the upgrade will provide to the business.
“It’s very important to us – in fact, critical to us – that we work to continue to reduce our emissions but also provide and enable our customers to reduce the amount of embodied carbon in the concrete that they provide to builders in the country here,” he said.
“In Cement Australia we have a decarbonisation road map, and we’re progressing along that pathway very favourably. We’ve developed new technology that enables our customers when they make their concrete to use less cement, to have lower embodied carbon in their concrete that they put into the community.
“We’ve increased the use of electric trucks, introducing for the first-time prime movers to pull our tankers around in Melbourne and in New South Wales. We continue to change and increase the use of alternate fuels, both here and at our Gladstone operation. And, again, we’re very, very pleased with the announcement made today that secures the future here at Railton.”
Davies confirmed Australia’s Department of Climate Change and Energy’s estimate that the upgrade will create 10 permanent jobs and around 230 temporary positions during the build process. The project is estimated to be completed by March 2026.
He said this was one of the key upgrades the Railton facility has seen in its hundred-year history.
“We’ll be looking to change the amount of coal we use in our operation and transferring that into an alternate fuel system. We will be bringing in around 30 per cent of our fuel as wood-based fibre and five per cent as shredded tyres,” Davies said.
“Here in Tasmania, there has been a longstanding issue with the stockpiling of tyres, and working the State Government we’ve been able to find a sensible, environmentally friendly and sustainable solution to that.
“It’s certainly a great opportunity for us to look to the future here in Railton. And we’ll continue to work with our customers and to ensure that we can supply lower embodied carbon, reducing our emissions by 107,000 tonnes per year when the project is complete.”
The upgrade will enable Cement Australia to supply lower embodied concrete to infrastructure and commercial applications across the country.
Senator Anne Urquhart said the extra jobs created from the upgrade would be valuable for Tasmania.
“The jobs that are provided here at places like Cement Australia at Railton are really good local jobs,” she said.
“(It) means that we retain services on the northwest coast of Tasmania, we retain good schools. It’s really important for people who want to live in a beautiful place like this.”
Other projects to receive the funding include AdBri’s cement facility in Port Adelaide with $50 million to reduce its emissions.
“Northern Tasmania, Central Queensland and Western Australia have been industrial powerhouses for generations,” Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said in April.
“As global markets change rapidly – we’re supporting Australian industry to not only survive but thrive with our world-class products that support regional jobs across the country.”
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