Tesla’s Elon Musk may be an answer to retaining the jobs at Bluff's Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, according to a Southland entrepreneur.
Nigel Broomhall, CEO of electric vehicle charging infrastructure business Invisible Urban Charging, said Mr Musk’s plans to open Gigafactories around the world may be the answer for Tiwai.
Rio Tinto, the smelter’s owner, announced last week it would close the plant in August next year. The announcement put 1000 jobs on the line.
Mr Broomhall said he was convinced Tiwai would be a good choice for a Gigafactory, which produces batteries for Tesla’s electric cars, because it was already staffed with 1200 skilled workers and can offer 570 megawatts sourced from 100 per cent renewable energy.
“The beauty of Bluff is that it has a deep water port."
Mr Broomhall said because he had operations in the US, he could help making contacts.
“We know that if New Zealand can get a deal together, that we can get it in front of the right people.”
He said it was about New Zealand considering whether it seriously wanted operations of the scale of a Gigafactory in Bluff.
“You can’t go to any American businessman with hopes and dreams. You have to go with a deal.”
Mr Broomhall had a message for Mr Musk: “Come and have a look.”
Last year, Tiwai’s owners said they were carrying out a strategic review of the site, pointing to "market conditions and high electricity costs".
The Invercargill Mayor has been vocal in his opposition to the closure of the plant.
Chief executive Alf Barrios said at the time aluminium prices were at a historical low.
A further 1600 jobs are threatened at the only aluminium processor in NZ, which is located on Tiwai Peninsula, a short distance from Bluff and Invercargill.
The plant is New Zealand's biggest electricity consumer, using a third of all the electricity supplied in the South Island, and about 13 per cent of electricity nation-wide.
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