Limerick's Aughinish Alumina under energy cost pressures

The Aughinish alumina plant uses 11% of the total gas demand in Ireland on any given day, according to March 2021 figures. Picture Dan Linehan

The Limerick-based Aughinish Alumina plant escaped the impact of EU sanctions imposed on oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who owns the plant’s parent company Rusal, but now it must battle the surging cost of energy.

Other alumina smelters are beginning to be impacted by surging energy prices as Romanian alumina producer Alum was forced to halt output for 17 months due to these costs, it has emerged.