Cement Australia will retrofit its century-old Railton kiln in north-west Tasmania to burn wood waste and used tyres along with coal, part of a $108 million upgrade the company casts as central to cutting its carbon emissions. That is according to Cement Australia, which has paused production at the site for an estimated 45 days and expects alternative fuels to supply half the plant’s energy once the works are finished.
Whilst the manufacturer presents the switch as a decarbonisation measure, conservationists question whether the wood waste will be sourced from plantations or native forests, warning that native-sourced biomass could erode the climate benefit. The Railton plant produces 1.4 million tonnes of finished cement each year and has used alternative fuels since 2008, though those fuels still account for only 15 per cent of its energy.
Chief executive Rob Davies said in 2024 that alternative fuels would make up 35 per cent of the plant’s energy, with wood chips supplying 30 per cent and used tyres a further 5 per cent, and the company has since set a longer-term target of 50 per cent. The kiln, which opened in 1922 and employs about 130 people, shuts every two years for maintenance, and Cement Australia expects to be operating on the new fuel mix by the third quarter of 2026.
Speaking alongside Energy Minister Chris Bowen in 2024, Davies said the kiln had been built for coal and needed reworking, with new fans and larger equipment to handle the heavier load of alternative fuels. The redesign was meant to let the kiln take in the fuels more readily, “so that effectively it breathes easier,” he said.
Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority cleared the project last month, subject to strict conditions covering air pollutant emissions, site noise and vehicle movements, after finding the proposal would cut overall greenhouse gas emissions and dust at the site. The authority said further action was nonetheless required on existing nitrogen dioxide emissions, and the planning application was approved by all Kentish councillors at a special meeting on 4 May.
The retrofit draws on $53 million in federal funding announced in 2024 under the $330 million Powering the Regions Fund, a package meant to help nine major heavy-industry manufacturers decarbonise. Cement Australia expects the change to cut its coal use by 111,000 tonnes a year and lower carbon dioxide by 105,000 tonnes over the same period.
Opposition has built since the funding was announced, with Greens senator Nick McKim calling for the grant to be rescinded and the Bob Brown Foundation staging a protest outside the plant. McKim said the project would entrench high-emissions activity and warned of “the ongoing destruction of Tasmania’s precious native forests,” he said.
Cement Australia declined to say where the wood would be sourced, though in its notice of intent to the regulator it stated the demand would not drive an increase in forestry harvesting. The residue would instead come from a mix of certified sustainably managed forests, the company said, including plantation and regrowth eucalypts, with Tasmania’s logging generating between one and two million tonnes of biomass each year.
Kentish Council mayor Kate Haberle welcomed the investment, saying the existing rail line and surrounding infrastructure made the site well-suited to the upgrade and that the works secured the plant’s future. Cement Australia expects the new fuels to be running by the third quarter of 2026, taking alternative fuels from 15 per cent of the kiln’s energy towards its stated target of 50 per cent.
