Australia: 20Mt of fly ash from the disused Port Augusta power station will be converted into low-carbon cement under the ‘Green Cement Transformation Project’, backed by a US$8m concessional loan from the South Australian government. Peter Malinauskas, premier of South Australia, said the project would create around 150 jobs during construction and approximately 50 ongoing roles once operational. Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2026, according to ABC news.
Malinauskas said "[Hallett] has developed an outstanding new technology that is literally a game changer when it comes to cement production in Australia … which, in effect, doubles the production capacity of the whole state when it comes to cement production. [This] will take 20Mt of leftover fly ash from the Port Augusta power station and turn it into ‘green’ cement, with effectively a 60% carbon reduction on cement we would otherwise normally see." Malinauskas added that the project would address the ‘genuine shortage’ of cement and concrete throughout the state.
Two infrastructure hubs will be built at Port Augusta and Port Adelaide. These facilities will enable waste byproducts from the former Northern Power Station fly ash dam and the Nyrstar Port Pirie smelter to be repurposed into low-carbon cement products.
