Date:
Monday, March 11, 2019
Time:
8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Location:
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 004
Sponsored by:
TMS Light Metals Division; TMS Aluminum Committee
Organizer:
Olivier Martin, Rio Tinto
During the last decade, the aluminum industry has seen important changes and developments, including increased production from China, very high amperage cells with low energy consumption, and new value-added products. This session will look at a vision for the aluminum industry in 2020-2030, discussing trends, risks, changes, and challenges and how they will be managed by the industry.
Featured Speakers:
Chris Bayliss, International Aluminium Institute
Presentation Title: "The Aluminium Story"
About the Presentation
The aluminium industry is undergoing a fundamental structural shift, the most significant since the 1970s and possibly since its inception in the late 19th century. This shift is a function of changing demand patterns, but also supply arrangements and it has major consequences for the environmental and social impacts of the sector and risks to the market. This talk will explore recent work by the International Aluminium Institute, its members, and partner organizations on historic and future material flows (including production volumes and location), combined with life-cycle impact assessment data to map the environmental impact of the aluminium supply chain (both positive and negative) in the latter half of the 20th century out to 2030. It will also touch on the ways in which aluminium can be seen to differ from other commodities and competing materials and the importance of understanding and quantifying the impacts during use of energy intensive, durable, and recyclable, lightweight aluminium products.
About the Presenter
Chris Bayliss has seventeen years’ experience as part of the International Aluminium Institute team, working on sustainability issues related to the aluminium industry. He is involved in all aspects of the Institute’s activities, from data collection and analysis to communication, and has played a leading role in collaborative projects to develop, among other things, the industry’s greenhouse gas accounting protocols, occupational health performance measurement tools, the global aluminium mass flow model, and The Aluminium Story. Bayliss holds Masters degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and London.
Mo Xinda, China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association
Presentation Title: "China Aluminium Industry Picture"
About the Presentation
China is a key player in the aluminium industry. This presentation will look at the current status of China’s aluminum industry, the results of supply-side reform, and thoughts on the future.
About the Presenter
Mo Xinda, senior engineer, graduated from the Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering Institute at the University of Science and Technology Beijing. She now works as the division chief of the Light Nonferrous Metals Department at the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA). Xinda has been engaged in the aluminum industry for more than12 years, specializing in aluminum industry production, consumption, trade and policy.
Todd Summe, Novelis Inc.
Presentation Title: "Products of the Future—Solutions for Shaping a Sustainable World"
About the Presentation
A solutions-focused strategy presents unprecedented opportunities for the aluminum industry. It also demands an unprecedented commitment to deeply understanding our customers’ needs in their dynamic environments in order to be an integrative force for innovation that solves their challenges at great speed, depth, and adaptability. Major market and technical trends that impact our customers—current and emerging—will be addressed. The rise of new mobility solutions, the growing sustainability concerns for packaging, and the technology of interconnectivity all require us to work differently, collaborate collectively, and partner strategically to be catalysts for change.
About the Presenter
Todd Summe is the Chief Research & Development Officer for Novelis. In this role, he is responsible for leading the company’s product innovation strategy and R&D across all regions and markets. He also oversees Novelis’ global network of research & technology centers throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. He is also responsible for working with global and regional leaders to enhance the strategic business impact and speed-to-market of product and process innovations.
Hans Erik Vatne, Norsk Hydro ASA
Presentation Title: "Smelter of the Future"
About the Presentation
This presentation will discuss challenges and opportunities related to energy consumption, direct CO2 emissions and other emissions, waste, and Industry 4.0 aspects. An update will be given on the performance of Hydro’s Karmøy technology pilot, a pilot with a focus on low energy consumption. Paths forward to further reduce energy consumption in the traditional Hall-Heroult process for aluminium production will be discussed. The challenge of direct CO2 emissions from the existing electrolysis process might be solved by inert anodes, as presented by others in the conference. Other opportunities like carbon capture and utilization or storage, bio carbon, and other, more exotic, processes will be briefly discussed. Also other environmental issues like fluorine and sulphur emissions and waste like spent potlining and bauxite residue will be briefly evaluated in a future and sustainable perspective. A main part of the presentation will be attributed to digital and Industry 4.0 issues necessary to bring the industry towards an autonomous smelter vision, i.e. a smelter that in principle is self-controlled and operated without any manual intervention. The status and development needs of elements like process sensors, autonomous transport and crane operations, digital twins and control systems and other automation aspects will be given.
About the Speaker
Hans Erik Vatne is Chief Technology Officer in Hydro and heads Hydro’s Corporate Technology Office. He holds a Master’s degree in Physics and a Ph.D. in Metallurgy, both from The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. He has more than 20 years of experience within the aluminium industry in Hydro, holding positions in R&D, rolling operations (as plant manager at Holmestrand Rolling Mill, Norway), Head of Business Unit Remelters, and lately Chief Technology Officer. Vatne is also board member of the faculty of natural sciences at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway.
Vincent Christ, Elysis
Presentation Title: "The Aluminium Industry Revolution at the Door Step"
About the Presentation
Alcoa and Rio Tinto, in partnership with the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec and Apple, announced in 2018 the formation of ELYSIS to complete the development of a revolutionary new aluminium smelting technology that produces oxygen and eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally this revolutionary technology will also result in a reduction of operating cost and an increase in productivity for a given footprint. The ELYSIS technology is intended both for retrofitting existing smelters and greenfield installations.
About the Presenter
Vincent Christ is Vice President, Technology and Project Development, for Rio Tinto, Aluminium. In 2003, he joined Alcan’s headquarters in Montreal as Director of Engineering and Maintenance. In this role, he oversaw the global capital investment and maintenance projects of 22 operating sites and the process engineering for all AP-30 projects, as well as the definition and implementation of mega projects. In 2006, Christ joined B&A as Vice-President, Technology. As part of this mandate, he led the implementation of a project conceptualizing the ‘refinery of the future’. Following the combination of Rio Tinto and Alcan in 2007, Christ was named General Manager, Technology, for the merged B&A headquartered out of Brisbane, Australia. In 2011, he was named Vice-President Global Technology, R&D, cathode business and equipment sales & services business. Since 2016, Christ has headed the Atlantic Operation’s technology and R&D, automation program and major projects development and studies. In 2018 he was appointed CEO of Elysis, a technology joint-venture between Alcoa, Rio Tinto, and the Quebec Government to develop and commercialize the inert anode smelter technology.
The session will conclude with a panel discussion featuring the session’s speakers.