by Emily Newton
Aluminum has garnered a reputation among environmentalists for its infinite recyclability. This quality makes it one of the lowest-impact material options for countless applications, including manufacturing, construction and consumer goods. Experts are still making strides toward low-carbon aluminum. To decarbonize aluminum production more comprehensively, leaders are taking these steps.
Clarifying the Connection Between Capital and Decarbonization
Introducing more profound sustainability to the aluminum sector requires varying degrees of financial commitment. Companies are investing in inert-anode equipment, waste heat recycling, mechanical vapor recompression and carbon capture on smelting pots to find the most significant savings. While the efforts are meaningful, they may be insufficient in decarbonizing the industry to its 95% target.
There is uncertainty regarding what strategy has the best cost-benefit analysis. Therefore, crystallizing the link between what methods produce the best results for the fairest price is critical for guiding experts. Analyses of these connections will also help producers anticipate green premiums associated with their products and how they will impact the market.
Investigations like this usually manifest as labels, marking deeply decarbonized aluminum products based on their eco-friendly tactics. Professionals must define how to mark the varieties of decarbonized aluminum based on its innovation. Then, they must add green premiums as necessary to incentivize companies to engage in risk factors associated with new business practices.
Advanced Recycling Tactics and Infrastructure
Experts project the demand for aluminum will rise by 40% by 2030 to supply industries with what they need. The metal is pivotal to countless sectors — some of which are lynchpins in worldwide environmental efforts involving solar panels and electric vehicles. China is responsible for two-thirds of this rise, equaling 12.3 megatons of aluminum. Other Asian countries need an additional 8.6, and Europe will require 4.8 megatons.
The spike requires companies to consider disposal and reacquisition more urgently. Careful forethought will lower the need to mine virgin resources, promoting circular economic practices by returning materials to the sector. While much aluminum is recycled, net zero is only obtainable if producers recapture it. The effort eliminates emissions caused by mining, refining and more. Only an estimated 6% of organizations have complete oversight over their supply chains. Prioritizing a closed-loop operation boosts that visibility.
There are few robust systems for collecting and sorting scrap aluminum for repurposing, which is the most cost-effective way to achieve environmental gains. Establishing transportation and procurement methods for old materials will be vital for building sustainable momentum across sectors.
Green Electricity
Creating aluminum generates large amounts of direct emissions in production, from electrolysis to extracting bauxite ore. For example, clean power generators can eliminate the footprint for intensive operations like smelting in the same way that hydropower has decarbonized the Yunnan province’s aluminum market.
Switching to renewable sources and electrification is essential. Though some of the biggest entities in the aluminum world use clean power, coal has represented a deceptively large portion of the sector’s power consumption for decades.
Most producers generate power on-site, meaning businesses have autonomy over their energy mix. They do not have to rely on the grid to adapt, modernize or change to reduce emissions this way. Considering direct and indirect emissions together, power generation is 70% of the carbon footprint. Short-term emissions reductions are most accessible by removing fossil fuels from corporate practices.
Cleaner Machinery Deployment
Everything within an aluminum building can transition to low-energy, resource-smart alternatives. There are countless opportunities for quick environmental savings, from the facility’s lighting to its generators. The Hall-Héroult process is crucial for transforming alumina into aluminum. Reports suggest several plants could integrate carbon-free anodes in these processes in the near future.
Alternatively, aluminum processors could invest in research and development to find techniques outside the energy-intensive Hall-Héroult strategy, such as carbothermic reduction. However, aluminum-silicon alloy progress is predominantly in China, the U.S. and Russia and requires more investments.
Other advancements can make machinery more eco-friendly in different ways. Leveraging next-generation toll processing equipment can reduce processing defects and waste by getting closer to the exact measurements needed for a project. Precision cut-to-length jobs can manage aluminum from 0.010 to 0.375 gauge thicknesses and multi-blanking from 0.010 to 0.125.
Facilities must also train employees on new technologies to achieve more carbon savings. Rewiring these habits through education will make decarbonization efforts more lucrative in the long term. Additionally, it will establish a greener culture in the workplace that helps preserve next-generation sustainable machinery.
Low-Carbon Aluminum Facilities
Aluminum production facilities include tons of antiquated technologies hindering their ability to decarbonize. Therefore, retrofitting old buildings and focusing on low-carbon methods for new construction is essential. The transition could encompass any of the following methods:
- Incorporating smart sensors to measure environmental factors for reporting
- Redesigning sections to maintain internal conditions to reduce energy demand
- Establishing more robust waste management and sorting infrastructure
A project in Norway is set to be an example for upcoming plants. The initiative will cost the equivalent of $154 million and provide Europe with low-carbon aluminum. The company is a hybrid producer of the metal and renewable energy, revolutionizing the energy transition while expanding resource availability throughout Europe’s supply chains.
The advantage of committing to low-carbon facilities is scalability. Because of this investment, these countries’ transition to green energy will skyrocket. Aluminum is critical for efficient conduction power transmission technologies. Amplifying production while decreasing emissions will solve multiple environmental problems globally and across industries.
The Future of Low-Carbon Aluminum
While aluminum’s recycling power is monumental, production decarbonization requires a well-rounded approach. It must focus on all aspects of its manufacturing process, from material harvesting to end-of-life. Diversifying the industry’s focus is essential for decreasing the negative impacts of supply chain processes and facility operations. Eventually, aluminum production will have an equally sustainable reputation and positive effects.
