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AA ALATR-1 Document Information:
Title
Alumina Technology Roadmap
The Aluminum Association Inc.
Publication Date:
Nov 1, 2001
Scope:
This Alumina Technology Roadmap represents a unique global
partnership, a partnership that may well
signal the future of the aluminium industry. This roadmap partnership
has involved the
collaborative efforts of industry groups from the major international
companies operating on four
continents, government representatives from both the United States and
Australia, and
representatives from the academic community and industry associations
(The Aluminum Association and
the Australian Aluminium Council). All were drawn together under the
auspices of AMIRA
International, the mineral industry research association, to consider
and develop technology plans
for the alumina industry through the year 2020. Given the
globalization of the aluminium industry,
and the fact that Australia is by far the largest producer and
exporter of alumina, it is most
appropriate that the input for this Alumina Technology Roadmap was
developed at a workshop in
Fremantle, Western Australia in May 2001.
The alumina industry is facing similar issues as most other global
commodity producers: social and
environmental reporting, the challenge of sustainable operations, the
image of a 'green' industry,
and competition from substitute materials. Individually each producer
is addressing these
challenges. However, it is now evident that some challenges are best
dealt with by an industry
sector above and beyond the direct competitive environment. One key
outcome of a technology roadmap
is identifying these collaborative areas and the steps that must be
taken to achieve the
industry-wide goals.
A steering committee of international technology experts guided the
development of the roadmap. An
essential first step was the development of critical technology goals
to which the industry should
aspire. These ambitious goals establish the longterm vision and
encompass the challenges for
alumina as a commodity - energy efficiency, safety, environmental
performance, sustainability
issues, and customer expectations - as well as the product challenges
of quality, consistency, and
performance. The goals reflect the industry's acknowledgment of the
growing impact of environmental
and social issues on business practices. Improving overall performance
on environment, health, and
safety, for example, will push the industry beyond current best
practice and enhance its long-term
competitiveness. The specific industry strategic goals for the year
2020 are shown in Exhibit 1.
The resulting roadmap outlines a comprehensive long-term research and
development plan that defines
the industry's collective future and establishes a clear pathway
forward. It emphasizes twelve
high-priority R&D areas deemed most significant in addressing the
strategic goals. Both
continuous improvement through incremental changes as well as
significant advances through
innovative step changes will be essential if the industry is going to
respond effectively to the
challenges in the years to come.
The expected benefits of using the technology roadmap include
increasing governments' capacity to
build strategic research alliances and enabling industry to capitalize
on emerging economic
opportunities through early and improved access to leading-edge
technology. It is anticipated that
the development of this Alumina Technology Roadmap will serve to
complement other ongoing efforts
to enhance the understanding of the industry by government and other
stakeholders such as the
national laboratories and universities. The Australian industry and
Government are currently
putting in place a long-term vision for the industry in Australia,
under the title of the Light
Metals Action Agenda. The technology roadmap approach has been
embraced as a key component of this
strategy. The development of the Alumina Technology Roadmap has also
been a major action item under
the Government's Energy Efficiency Best Practice program. The
participating government agencies of
both the United States and Australia are encouraged by the willingness
of alumina producers from
around the world to collaborate on a strategic plan to guide the
industry's growth and enhance its
competitiveness in the world economy over the next several decades.
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