Executives from aluminium producers Alcoa, Hindalco, Norsk Hydro and EN+ have said that governments, regulators and companies need to work together to develop a framework to make sustainably produced aluminium competitive against metal produced by more traditional methods.
They were speaking during a panel at Fastmarkets' Base Metals: Unplugged event on Monday October 28, as part of the London Metal Exchange's LME Week. Multilateral initiatives must be used to kickstart the green aluminium market, they said.One factor preventing green aluminium from becoming competitive was traditionally manufactured China-origin aluminium, which is more cost-effective but also produces more pollution, according to EN+ executive chairman Lord Gregory Barker."Chinese aluminium is [generating] as much as 22 tonnes of carbon per tonne of aluminium. That is frankly disgraceful in a low-carbon world, and we know the damage it is doing to our planet," Barker said.The lower cost of producing aluminium conventionally, using energy sources such as coal in China, also makes it difficult for Western aluminium producers to focus on the production of green aluminium, according to Alcoa chief executive officer Roy Harvey."We can try to find a way to drive a carbon-positive...