Labor backs Hallett’s green cement dreams with multimillion-dollar loan
A multimillion-dollar government loan will support Hallett Group’s green cement plan to transform a defunct power station in Port Augusta.
Premier Peter Malinauskas on Wednesday announced that the state government is giving a $12 million loan to South Australia-based Hallett Group to back the company’s $200 million Green Cement Transformation Project at Port Augusta.
The project will repurpose the site of the former Northern Power Station into an infrastructure hub where waste by-products from the Port Pirie smelter can be repurposed into green cement.
Flyash from the Port Augusta legacy dam and the Nyrstar Port Pirie slag pile will be ‘supplementary cementitious materials’ in the production of green cement which could reduce carbon dioxide emissions of cement production by as much as 30 per cent.
It was expected that around 150 people would be employed during the project’s construction phase, and there would be around 50 ongoing roles.
The Federal Labor government contributed a grant of $20 million to the project through its Modern Manufacturing Initiative in 2022.
Malinauskas said it was hoped the project would stimulate other projects on the Upper Spencer Gulf, including carbon dioxide reuse, synthetic fuels, mineral recovery and potential green lime manufacturing.
At the announcement on Wednesday morning, he said it was appropriate that the initiative was taking place on the former Northern Power Station.
“Coupled with green iron and steel in Whyalla, and critical metals in Port Pirie, this project is paving the way for huge opportunities for the Upper Spencer Gulf and South Australia,” Malinauskas said.
“It will help South Australia meet its booming demand for building products used in homes, businesses and industry, while providing sovereign capability and supply chain resilience.”
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Hallett Group CEO Kane Salisbury said the company was grateful for the state and federal government support.
“The loan… will ensure that Hallett accelerates the delivery of this large-scale project,” Salisbury said.
“Hallett have worked diligently for 10 years to develop solutions to challenging problems, and we are delighted to now implement world leading technology that provides a great product for our customers and great outcomes for our community and the environment.”
