In conversation with Elliot Mari, a Technical Lead for material industries at the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA), wherein he has shed his insights into the aluminium industry's decarbonisation journey. He has several years of experience working on industry decarbonisation roadmaps with a focus on the cement, steel and aluminium sectors in France. Elliot also worked as a reservoir engineer at Oil & Gas major TotalEnergies in Angola. He holds a Master of Engineering Science from the Ecole Centrale de Nantes in France and a Master of Sustainable Energy from the University of Queensland, Brisbane.

AL Circle: What notable progress has the global aluminium industry made in its decarbonisation journey so far? How does the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA) contribute to the decarbonisation efforts of energy-intensive sectors, particularly aluminium?

Elliot Mari: The global aluminium industry has emerged as a decarbonisation frontrunner among energy-intensive sectors. The sector accounts for the highest number of operational clean industrial plants - 39 in total - representing more than half of all operational clean projects, according to our latest Global Project Tracker analysis. These facilities have the collective capacity to produce 18 million tonnes of clean aluminium per year, while eliminating up to 154 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

This figure exceeds the combined reductions from all other industrial sectors we analysed, including steel, cement, chemicals, aviation and maritime, which stand at 146 million tonnes. A significant portion of this progress is due to the sector’s use of legacy assets that are already powered by renewable hydropower. Hydropower’s ability to provide clean, reliable, and large-scale baseload electricity makes the technology especially well-suited to aluminium production, which is highly energy intensive.

The Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA) plays a key role in fast-tracking decarbonisation in high-emitting industrial sectors, including aluminium, by helping to accelerate projects to Final Investment Decision. We bring together leaders across industry, finance and governments, to unlock investment at scale – providing targeted project support through collaborations with governments, and strengthening the economic conditions for investment. This includes working on critical policy levers to accelerate industrial decarbonisation, supporting the development of international low-emission product standards for industrial goods, and identifying solutions to de-risk projects.

For example, in May 2025, in partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services (MDIC), we selected seven new clean-industry flagship projects for support from the ITA to accelerate decarbonisation in Brazil. This latest round of projects represents a significant investment, exceeding USD 7.5 billion, and has high potential to speed up clean industrial solutions in various parts of Brazil, strengthening the country’s position as a leader in the transition globally.