South Australia will develop a $125 million green cement project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Hallett Group has obtained $20 million in funding from the federal government to reduce Australia's annual carbon dioxide emissions by 300,000 tonnes initially and one million tonnes as it expands.

The company will employ existing technology to produce additional materials that can replace more than fifty per cent of conventional clinker-based cement with significant emissions.

The main industrial activity will be located in Port Augusta, employing approximately fifty workers to recover and process waste flyash from the now-shuttered Port Augusta power station.

The addition of resources from the Nyrstar Port Pirie metals smelter and, pending a successful appraisal, the Liberty Whyalla Steelworks will assist both businesses in reducing their onsite environmental imprint.

Kane Salisbury, chief executive officer of Hallett Group, stated that the project would replace imports of supplemental ingredients and safeguard Australia's future access to green cement.

“This will deliver significant and quantifiable sustainability, employment, and financial benefits to a broad range of local and national stakeholders and businesses,” he said. 

Hallett intends to deliver at least 30 million tonnes of supplemental materials to the market over the next two decades and beyond, based on its existing material reserves and manufacturing output.

It would aid in reducing the 12 million tonnes of clinker-based cement with high carbon dioxide emissions used annually in Australia.

The Energy and Mining Minister of South Australia, Tom Koutsantonis, stated that the project highlighted the state's ability to attract investors pursuing low-emission technologies.

“Building homes and cities using low emissions materials and leveraging renewable energy is the kind of innovative investment the government plans to attract by maintaining South Australia’s reputation for global leadership in renewables,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

Hallett Group's owner, Mark Pickard, stated that the company's bold entry into green cement shook Australia's long-established cement market structure, unleashing more innovation and development potential for the group and its customers.

Source: InDaily

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