Energy optimization and digital monitoring for aluminum smelting and refining
How real-time data and predictive analytics help aluminum producers cut energy costs, prevent downtime, and improve operational reliability
Aluminum production is one of the most complex and energy-intensive industrial processes in the world. It includes three main stages: refining bauxite into alumina, using electrolysis to produce aluminum, and casting the final product. Each step needs careful control of temperature, chemistry, and power. If something goes wrong at one stage, it can quickly affect the others. Because the process consumes large amounts of electricity and generates intense heat, even small inefficiencies lead to high energy costs and wasted resources. That’s why modern aluminum plants are turning to digital monitoring, predictive analytics, and energy-management systems to keep operations stable, prevent downtime, and use every kilowatt-hour more efficiently.
Challenges
- High energy consumption & electricity costs:
Many smelters operate in the range 12,500 – 15,000 kWh/t of aluminum for electric power consumption (excluding upstream and auxiliary processes).
Newer or optimized smelters may approach ~12,500 kWh/t, but many still run nearer to 14,500–15,000 kWh/t.
A single large smelter can draw ~11 TWh/year, equal to the power use of a mid-sized city - Heat losses and process inefficiencies
- Unplanned shutdowns in smelting or calcination units can cost over $100,000 per hour once production and restart energy losses are included.
- Because aluminum production involves many different stages, pieces of equipment, and control points — often spread across several plants, cities, or even states — finding the source of a failure is often difficult and time-consuming. The size and complexity of the process make it harder to react quickly, which can delay repairs and increase the risk of long downtime and lost production.
Goals
- Reduce energy intensity across all stages:
Lower electricity use in primary smelting and improve heat recovery in refining and calcination. - Shorten fault detection and response time:
Enable faster identification of where and why failures occur, reducing diagnostic time across complex multi-site operations. - Minimize unplanned downtime and related costs
- Improve load planning and peak demand management:
Forecast and balance energy demand to avoid costly peak loads and grid penalties
Solution
For one of the world’s largest aluminum producers CENTO implemented solution across a vast and complex production network that includes more than 10 alumina refineries, over 5 aluminum smelters, and several bauxite mines located in different regions. This distributed structure made real-time monitoring, unified energy accounting, and rapid fault detection especially critical.
- Centralized digital monitoring across all sites
A unified dispatcher and monitoring system was deployed, covering all production facilities — from alumina refineries and smelters to mining sites. This created a single platform for real-time visibility into electricity, heat, water, gas, and compressed air systems. - Automated data collection and energy accounting
Manual meter readings and daily inspection rounds were replaced with automated systems:
– commercial electricity metering
– accounting of all energy resources
– operational dispatching of energy consumption
This allowed precise balancing of energy flows, transparent reporting, and better control of resource costs. - Real-time fault detection and faster response
Continuous real-time data acquisition, automated alerts, and remote switching in key sections of the power network (110 kV and above) have significantly reduced emergency response times. In the past, manual switching once caused a 1.5-hour potline shutdown with losses of about $650,000; now, such events can be detected and addressed almost immediately. - Predictive equipment loading and safety control
The system monitors transformer and substation loading, series current, and breaker temperatures. Early warnings help prevent overloads and equipment failures while improving electrical safety during maintenance. - Scalable architecture for future digitalization
Its modular design supports expansion into MES and production analytics, paving the way for Industry 4.0 capabilities across the company’s aluminum operations.
Check how CENTO works in real life
With clear visibility, accurate metering, insightful analytics, and effective planning,
your resources and equipment will be utilized more efficiently.
Mining
Automated metering, monitoring and control system. Decrease in the purchased power volume. Cancelled daily scheduled rounds and reduced response time to emergencies.
Metals
Legacy systems replaced. Unified control, diagnostics, and data for 210 facilities.
Energy
Secure PQ monitoring inside isolated network. Real-time data, full internal control.
Data centers
Energy metering and power quality analysis. Integrated monitoring for critical infrastructure and uptime.