Queensland Alumina upgrades plant with Siemens technology

The order comprises three GH180 Perfect Harmony VSDs, which will replace existing drives and help the refinery reduce energy usage and emissions.

A further two VSDs will be installed in the boiler house ash pumps.

It comes as part of QAL’s $400 million five-year environmental strategy program (5-YES) aimed at reducing environmental risks and emissions through capital improvements.

The 5-YES program sees QAL aim to invest in 60 capital improvement projects and culture-change initiatives.

The strategy looks to reduce environmental risks and emissions potential in the focus areas of dust, water, land, air and culture.

Siemens Australia and New Zealand head of large drives applications Paul Bulloch said he is excited by QAL’s commitment to the telecommunications company.

“We’re proud to work closely with QAL, assisting them in achieving their targets of reduced energy consumption and emissions,” he said.

“QAL has a rich history in Gladstone spanning over 54 years. Their operations contribute to the economy on a local, national and global scale.

“It’s great to see them investing in cutting-edge technology that has a proven track record of helping reduce operating expenses globally from China and Singapore to Germany and Australia through higher productivity, faster project execution thanks to 30 per cent shorter commissioning times and maximised efficiency.”

The GH180 Perfect Harmony VSD has an installed base of over 780 units in Australia and almost 20,000 units globally exceeding 25 gigawatt of installed power capacity. Enhanced reliability is now also possible with remote diagnostics from SiDrive IQ.