Honeywell has announced it will provide its Integrated Controls and Safety System (ICSS) for Iluka Resources’ Eneabba rare earths refinery in Western Australia, which the company says will be the first fully integrated facility of its kind in Australia.
The move is part of a broader effort to enhance production efficiency and improve worker safety at the new refinery, which aims to produce materials critical to an electrified economy, Honeywell said in a news release.
According to the company, its automation and safety solutions for Iluka will include the Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS), Universal Operation Controllers (UOC), and advanced remote-control systems.
The company’s distributed control system will allow Iluka to manage operations across the refinery through a fully integrated platform, while the safety systems are designed to reduce incident risks and maximise production uptime.
Honeywell also noted that the solution will feature enhanced cybersecurity protections to safeguard onsite and cloud operations.
Craig Renner, project director at Iluka Resources, said the Eneabba refinery project highlights the importance of expanding Australia’s critical minerals sector and diversifying the global rare earths supply chain.
“As a partner in this endeavour, Honeywell brings decades of automation domain expertise to increase productivity at the refinery while keeping our most important assets, our workers, safe,” Renner said.
The Eneabba refinery, backed through a strategic partnership between the Australian Government and Iluka, represents a capital investment of between $AUD1.7 billion and $1.8 billion.
Once operational, it is expected to produce up to 6,250 tonnes per year of separated neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium oxides – key materials used in defence systems, electric and hybrid vehicles, robotics, and sustainable energy technologies, among other sectors.
According to Honeywell, the integration of its control systems will enable real-time data analytics, providing operators with faster decision-making capabilities and improving overall operational efficiency.
Pramesh Maheshwari, president of Honeywell Process Solutions, said the partnership with Iluka demonstrates the role of automation in supporting the global energy transition.
“With Honeywell’s extensive expertise in automation, Iluka will be equipped with the necessary tools to enhance the safety and efficiency of its operations, which are vital for supporting a more sustainable future,” Maheshwari said.
The Eneabba refinery is scheduled to be commissioned in 2027.
