Tomago Aluminium CEO Matt Howell says batteries, pumped hydro must improve to run Tomago Aluminium on renewable electricity

Tomago chief executive Matt Howell had said in June last year he was keen to see the smelter use renewable power but baseload coal was the likely reality "for the foreseeable future".

Last night, Mr Howell told the Herald a lot had happened since then.

He did not take part in Tuesday's conference, but said Tomago was looking at its power sources beyond 2029, when its contract with AGL was scheduled to end.

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There were growing signs the smelter could run on renewables if storage technology improved substantially. But there would still be "some thermal" in its electricity mix, although more likely gas rather than coal.

Mr Howell would not be drawn on the proposed Kurri Kurri gas-fired turbine powering Tomago.

But he did say the smelter's owners - Rio Tinto, CSR and Hydro Aluminium - were determined to keep it running.

The debate over Tomago's power sources coincided with the latest United Nations assessment report on climate change, which said temperatures would rise by at least 1.5 to 2 degrees this century unless deep cuts were made to greenhouse emissions.

Even then, it would take 20 years or more for emissions reductions to make a "discernible" difference.

Both sides of federal politics have relied on Australia's "tiny" contribution to global emissions to justify their inaction.

Unfortunately for supporters of this view, their chances of tilting global opinion in our favour are similarly small.

In other words, the big decisions will be made for us, not by us.

Electricity generation is already in violent upheaval.

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Now, some metals industries say that they, too, can go green.

Hydrogen, dangerously explosive, is often mentioned. A low-carbon future for the West will not be an agrarian hippie dream.

It will be high-tech, with massive amounts of aluminium and other metals needed, for example, to build the millions of electric motors destined to replace the internal combustion engine.

Mining, smelting and manufacturing will be central to this revolution.

Tomago Aluminium is a key player.

It and our other smelters must be able to access reliable and affordable electricity throughout the energy transition.

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