IMPACT SPOTLIGHT: Enabling Aluminium Smelting to be Grid-Responsive

 Measuring smelting cell condition after power modulation trial

Aluminium underpins modern economies, but the smelting process that produces it is extremely energy-intensive. In Australia, aluminium smelting consumes around 10–12% of the nation’s total electricity. Traditionally, smelters operate at constant power, limiting their ability to adapt to fluctuating renewable energy supply and changing electricity prices.

The Hub research team, led by UNSW in partnership with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), has delivered a step-change in how this critical industry can operate. By developing advanced digital twin models, real-time “soft sensing” tools and new control algorithms, the team has enabled aluminium production rates to be safely increased or decreased in response to grid conditions. By leveraging the large thermal capacity of smelting cells, production can be dynamically adjusted to match fluctuations in power supply and electricity prices.

This capability allows smelters to be powered, at least partially, by intermittent renewable energy while providing valuable demand-response services to the electricity grid. In effect, smelters can operate as large-scale “virtual batteries” — absorbing excess renewable power, reducing demand during shortages, enhancing grid stability and improving overall system efficiency, while lowering operating costs for producers.

Importantly, these technologies have been trialled on production cells at EGA, significantly advancing their readiness for real-world industrial deployment.

This project exemplifies Industrial Transformation in action: applying cutting-edge research to a real industrial process, strengthening Australia’s capability in advanced process control, improving energy productivity, and enabling heavy industry to actively support the transition to a lower-carbon energy system.