Wednesday 14 January 2026
A new project poised to turn Port Augusta into a national hub for the burgeoning green cement industry – an environmentally-friendly alternative to carbon-intensive cement.
The Hallett Group Pty Ltd is progressing its $200 million Green Cement Transformation Project, which will repurpose the site of the former Northern Power Station into a beacon for low-carbon economic transition.
The project adds to an estimated $2.5 billion in capital investment in energy-related projects completed and in the pipeline for Port Augusta and the Upper Spencer Gulf since 2016.
When completed, the Green Cement Transformation Project will see two infrastructure hubs, at Port Augusta and Port Adelaide, where waste by-products from Port Augusta’s Northern Power station ash dam and the Nyrstar Port Pirie smelter can be re-purposed into green cement.
The new approach will use fly ash from the Port Augusta legacy dam and the Nyrstar Port Pirie slag pile as ‘supplementary cementitious materials’ (SCMs) in the production of green cement.
SCMs are known to improve the long-term strength and durability of cement while reducing the carbon dioxide emissions of cement production by as much as 30 per cent.
Around 150 people will be employed during the project’s construction phase, and it is expected to create approximately 50 ongoing roles.
Once operational, the project is expected to stimulate other economic activities on the Upper Spencer Gulf including carbon dioxide reuse, synthetic fuels, mineral recovery and potential green lime manufacturing.
The Australian Government has also contributed a grant of $20 million to the project through the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.
The region continues to attract significant energy investments, as it is poised as a key centre in South Australia’s future prosperity.
Construction is set to begin within months on a 270 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) known as the Northern Battery. And later this year construction will begin on Potentia’s 225 MW Emeroo BESS about 15 km northeast of Port Augusta, co-located with the Bungala Solar Farm.
More major renewable energy projects are proposed, including stage 3 of the Lincoln Gap Wind Farm and associated BESS. In combination, these projects represent an estimated $2.5 billion in capital investment, delivering 1,082 Megawatts in total renewable energy generation capacity and total large scale battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity of 615 Megawatts.
