Siemens and EnPot join forces to power China’s aluminium industry using renewables

SIEMENS has signed a deal with EnPot, developer of a novel heat exchange technology, to help China’s huge aluminium industry use more renewable power.

EnPot, a New Zealand-based process development company, has developed a technology that allows aluminium smelters to modulate their power use. This would open the door for smelters to reduce their reliance on more dependable fossil fuels while contributing to grid stability.

Traditional smelter design requires a constant power supply to sustain the electrochemical reaction that produces aluminium and to maintain the heat balance within the pots – a reduction in power can cause severe damage.

EnPot’s technology uses a mechanical system of heat exchangers that preserve the electrochemical process while allowing smelters to modulate energy by up to 30% without disrupting the internal heat balance. This makes smelting more compatible with variable supplies of renewable power.

Siemens Energy designs energy management systems that integrate renewable power generation into existing facilities and optimise power use. Together the partners aim to help manufacturers integrate more renewable energy, improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.

China has strict targets for renewable energy to power 30% of its aluminium industry by 2027.

Karyna Young, CEO of EnPot, said: “China boasts more than 55% of the world’s aluminium smelters and counting. Like the rest of the world, they also see an urgent need to power the process with more energy from the sun, wind and lakes.

“This means they need to produce aluminium more flexibly by turning power consumption up or down on demand to match the availability of renewables. Numerous smelters in China have told our team they have an abundance of renewable energy that is next to impossible to take full advantage of without being able to dynamically balance the heat in the pots.”

EnPot’s technology was commercialised at a smelter in Essen, Germany in 2014 and expanded to a full potline of 120 pots in 2019.

For more on the technology, read a feature written by its developers.