The launch of the first stage of the Taishet anode plant is part of RUSAL's large-scale import substitution project. The project will provide roasted anodes to the company's facilities, primarily the Taishet Aluminium Smelter, which is also under construction in Irkutsk region and will produce its first metal in 2021. This guarantees the maintenance of an uninterrupted production cycle and raw material safety in the aluminum industry.
The first stage of the anode plant is planned to be brought to its design capacity in 2020, while the second stage is planned to be commissioned in 2024. The capacity of both stages will allow producing 400 thousand tonnes of roasted anodes and 150 thousand tonnes of calcined coke per year.
The construction of Taishet anode plant is an important stage in RUSAL's strategy aimed at raw material safety. The project is based on the know-how developed at RUSAL's Engineering and Technology Centre and audited by R&D Carbon Ltd, the world leader in this field. The use of modern, environmentally friendly, competitive and energy efficient proprietary technology is a guarantee of quality in the production of fired anodes.
The pre-baked anodes will be used at the Company's own heavy-duty energy efficient and environmentally friendly electrolysers, which will be installed at the Taishet smelter. In addition to TAZ, fired anodes will be supplied to other RUSAL smelters: the Sayanogorsk smelter, the Boguchansk smelter and the Krasnoyarsk smelter.
Investment in the project exceeds RUB 52 billion. The implementation of such a large-scale project will ensure 100% localisation of anode production, eliminate consumption of imported products and, as a result, reduce dependence on external suppliers.