ALUMINA REFINING
Digestion steam below the cost of gas, fixed for 20 years.
Long-term steam price certainty for alumina refining, designed around your existing boilers.
THE SECTOR TODAY
Demand for alumina is rising. So is the pressure on how it’s made.
Aluminum demand is growing
Electric vehicles, power grids and packaging are all pulling more aluminum, and every tonne starts as alumina.
Energy costs affect refinery economics
Steam for digestion is one of a refinery’s largest operating costs, and fuel prices set most of it.
New refineries are going where the sun is
Much of the world’s new refining capacity is being built in sunny regions such as the Middle East and India.
THE SOLUTION
GlassPoint replaces gas-fired digestion steam with solar steam made at your refinery, in the sunny regions where new capacity is being built. Your steam price is fixed for 20 years, so fuel markets no longer set your operating cost. On a new refinery, solar is designed in from the start.
APPLICATIONS
Industrial steam for alumina refining
Digestion is where most of a refinery’s steam goes: 150–250°C steam dissolves alumina from bauxite in caustic soda. GlassPoint steam feeds the same steam header as your boilers, which stay in place as backup. Calcination needs heat above 1,000°C and stays on your existing calciners.
01 Bauxite
02 Digestion
GlassPoint solar steam, fed into the digestion steam header alongside your boilers
03 Clarification
04 Precipitation
05 Calcination
Stays on your existing calciners (above 1,000°C)
06 Alumina
APPLICATION
Bayer digestion steam
Replaces gas-fired steam in digestionReplaces gas-fired steam in digestion
STEAM TEMPERATURE
Up to 550°
Digestion typically runs at 150–250°C
THERMAL STORAGE
Heat beyond daylight hours
Molten salt keeps steam flowing overnight
Every application is confirmed through a site-specific assessment of configuration and operating conditions.
WHAT IT SAVES
Fuel is most of what your steam costs. Cut it.
Fuel is the largest part of a boiler’s running cost, and the part most exposed to price swings. Solar steam displaces most of it.
And as carbon pricing spreads, the steam is already clean.
50-80%
Typical fuel share of a gas-fired boiler’s running cost.
IN DEVELOPMENT
Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia
Ma’aden Solar I
The world’s largest solar process heat plant, when complete. Steam for Ma'aden’s alumina refinery, cutting its carbon emissions by nearly 10%.
PEAK OUTPUT
1,500 MWth
GAS SAVED PER YEAR
DAILY STEAM
12M MMBtu
14,000 t
CO₂ AVOIDED PER YEAR
600,000 t
“Ma’aden Solar I will dramatically reduce our carbon footprint. As the world moves towards green aluminum, Ma’aden intends to help lead the way in this transition.”
Robert Wilt, CEO, Ma’aden
FAQ
Common questions from refinery teams
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It depends on your steam demand, land near the refinery, solar resource and current fuel cost. A site assessment answers this.
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Steam up to 450°C, which covers Bayer digestion. Calcination stays on your existing calciners.
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Thermal storage carries steam delivery beyond daylight hours. Your existing boilers stay in place as backup.
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GlassPoint finances, builds, owns and operates the plant. You buy the steam at a fixed price over a 20-year term.
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It runs in parallel with your existing boilers and feeds the same steam header, so your process doesn’t change.
Download the Alumina Refining one-pager
Get an overview of the application, commercial proposition, and project details.