In America, the Aluminum Association has announced a new partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the number of aluminium industry jobs in the USA and explore new, sustainable technologies to advance US manufacturing. The DOE’s Aluminum Industry Jobs Partnership will identify opportunities to expand plant capacity and improve workforce development systems to help bring qualified candidates to the industry. Today, the $65 billion aluminium industry directly employs around 155,000 workers in the US.
The Aluminum Industry Jobs Partnership will be composed of participants from the Aluminum Association and its member companies as well as the DOE Jobs Strategy Council (JSC) and Office of the Secretary. The JSC is a cross-cutting initiative that integrates the research, technology, and economic resources of the Department to respond to the workforce and economic development needs of the energy industry and state and local governments. The Partnership will collaborate to explore technologies to advance the competitiveness of US manufacturing.
The announcement was made by David Foster, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, during the final day of the Aluminum Association’s Spring Meeting – Ride the Aluminum Wave — in Dana Point, California during a presentation to Aluminum Association membership. Foster detailed that the Partnership will initially meet on a quarterly basis to review the condition of the industry, identify projects of joint interest and implement activities of mutual benefit.
“Creating more aluminium industry jobs in the US contributes to the economy and the environment,” said Foster. “Aluminium is unique as a material in that it’s highly recyclable, extremely durable and it can contribute directly to energy efficiency through lightweighting in the transportation, building and other environments.”
Aluminium products can lower energy use in dozens of applications. Builders can gain points for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by using aluminium in construction projects. Highly recycled and lightweight aluminium packaging reduces shipping costs, material use and carbon emissions for beverage makers. And a study by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that aluminium has a 20% smaller life cycle energy use compared to a typical vehicle on the road today.
“This is a terrific example of the public and private sectors working together to strengthen US manufacturing — ensuring that we have a modern workforce that tracks with growth for the sustainable modern metal,” said Heidi Brock, President and CEO of the Aluminum Association. “We’re looking forward to collaborating with the DOE on this effort to grow the aluminium industry, its jobs and skills, while also improving our performance.”
The Partnership will have four initial goals:
- Expand the number of aluminum industry jobs in the US
- Improve industry workforce development systems by identifying and addressing skills shortages and developing training programs
- Explore cross-cutting technologies to enhance US manufacturing
- Identify opportunities for more energy efficient manufacturing throughout the industry.
The US aluminium industry continues to improve its environmental performance in a variety of areas. A peer-reviewed life cycle assessment study released last year found that the energy used to produce new (primary) aluminium is down more than a quarter since 1995. At the same time, recovery and recycling across the industry is on the rise. Today, around 70% of US aluminium production is in secondary, or recycled, metal. Recycled aluminium requires 92% less energy to make than new aluminium, which has a major impact on the industry’s overall environmental footprint.
Photo Courtesy of Rio Tinto Alcan
Nautilus vessel electrical installation contract awarded to Siemens
Nautilus Minerals has awarded the order for the supply of the entire electrical installation for the production support vessel for its seabed mining project has been awarded to Siemens International Trading (Shanghai), a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG. Mike Johnston, Nautilus’ CEO, commented, “the electrical package marks the fourth major long lead time package to be awarded by the shipyard, Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding. We are especially pleased to be partnering with another world class, global company such as Siemens. Their involvement with our first seafloor production system, along with other industry heavyweights such as GE Oil and Gas, Sandvik, Soil Machine Dynamics, Rolls Royce, Bedeschi and McGregor highlights the quality of the system that we are building. We look forward to reporting on Siemens’ progress as the vessel construction progresses.”
Siemens will supply the entire shipboard electrical installation for the company’s Production Support Vessel (PSV) to be first deployed for the Solwara 1 Project in the Bismarck Sea of Papua New Guinea. The scope of supply will extend to all main generators, switchboards, transformers, electrical motors and associated systems for power generation, propulsion, automation and distribution. Siemens will also be providing various switchboards and transformers to facilitate power distribution to various items of Seafloor Production Equipment to be built into the PSV during the ship building process.