Nyrstar turns to new electrolysis plant for “green zinc” at Hobart smelter

Plans to install an electrolysis plant at the Hobart zinc works of metals group Nyrstar Australia have gained momentum, with an election campaign promise of $50 million in funding from the Coalition government, should it be returned to power.

The federal government support for the roughly $400 million project joins a $20 million grant from the Tasmanian government, which was also announced this week, and which Nyrstar says will allow the plant to be built.

Hobart’s Zinc Works has been in operation for more than 100 years in Tasmania, and is a major energy user in the majority renewables powered state, accounting for around 10% of current demand.

But the plant has been struggling to compete commercially and is relying on the addition of the electrolysis plant to stay in business, by allowing more “green” zinc to be produced for less power and less cost.

Nyrstar, which is majority owned by global metals giant Trafigura Group, says the electrolysis plant will use the latest electrolysis technology to “enable a step change” in the performance of the zinc works and boost the global competitiveness of Australian zinc.

Details on the supplier of the electrolysis technology, what sort of process it will use, and how much energy this will require have not yet been nailed down, a spokesperson told RenewEconomy.

For Nyrstar, the addition of the electrolysis plant is not only crucial to the future of the Hobart zinc works, but to the company’s smelter in Port Pirie, which has its own plans for a renewable hydrogen facility.

The two facilities have a symbiotic relationship, where waste product from Port Pirie goes to Hobart for processing, while waste product from Hobart – which it can’t process – goes to Pirie, from there metals like lead are extracted.

In this sense, Nyrstar says construction of the Hobart electrolysis plant would not only employ 200 people at the peak of construction, but would secure the future of 500 direct jobs in Tasmania and 1,600 across Nyrstar’s Australian operations.

“Zinc is a critical mineral for the transition to a low carbon world, prolonging the useful life of steel in buildings, improving the performance of solar cells and playing a vital role in a wide range of industrial and agricultural uses,” said Nyrstar vice president of Australian operations, Dale Webb.

“Hobart’s Zinc Works, as it is known locally, has been operating for over 100 years and works with Nyrstar Australia’s Port Pirie multi-metals refining facility to enable a greater recovery of minerals and metals that are important to global supply chains.

“Tasmania’s renewable energy means that investment in our Hobart operations is also an investment in lower carbon zinc production. In a world seeking to decarbonise that creates a distinct advantage for Australian zinc in an increasingly competitive international market,” he said.

The plant is also of great importance to Tasmania, a point the state government underscored on Thursday in a statement committing the $20 million to the electrolysis plant.

Tasmania premier Jeremy Rockliff said the new “electrolytic plant” would also allow Nyrstar to move forward with its plans to produce “pure green zinc” from the battery recycling, an initiative that could save up to 8,000 tonnes of batteries each year from going into landfill.

“Nyrstar is already an important part of our booming exports sector …In fact, its production represents around 2.5% of Tasmania’s gross state product, demonstrating its importance to our economy,” Rockliff said.

“It’s ongoing commitment to our state is a vote of confidence in our economy, and for the future of the minerals processing industry in Tasmania, and we are backing it to the hilt with our investment that will secure its future for the long term,” he said.

The project, which Nyrstar says will take roughly two and a half years to build has locked in regulatory approvals from Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority and from the local Glenorchy City Council.