Germany’s aluminium industry is facing growing pressure from energy costs, international trade conflicts, industrial competitiveness and the need for skilled workers as the country works to strengthen its industrial base and accelerate the economic transformation. These challenges came into focus at an Aluminium industry conference hosted by IG Metall and IGBCE in Düsseldorf today, bringing together policymakers, aluminium producers, industry representatives, works council members and trade unionists. Held at the opening of the Aluminium trade fair in Düsseldorf, the conference focused on the future of Germany’s aluminium industry and the conditions needed to maintain a strong industrial base in Germany and Europe. The discussions centred on European industrial policy, the competitiveness...
Vedanta Aluminium reported record quarterly production across aluminium, alumina and value-added products in Q2 FY27, supported by capacity expansion and efficiency improvements. Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited, India’s largest aluminium producer, recorded its highest-ever quarterly aluminium production of 649,000 tonnes in Q2 FY27, up 5 per cent year on year from 617,000 tonnes in Q2 FY26. Aluminium output also increased 3 per cent quarter on quarter from 632,000 tonnes in Q1 FY27. For the first half of FY27, production reached a record 1,281,000 tonnes, up 5 per cent from 1,222,000 tonnes in H1 FY26. The company attributed the increase to new smelter volumes and efficiency improvements across existing production lines. Alumina output jumps 37 per cent Vedanta Aluminium’s alumina...
Grow with
AL Circle
Royal Huisman has successfully cut down the weight of its Nilaya superyacht, or Project 405, using its ‘Featherlight’ aluminium design. The extremely sought-after 46.8-metre (154-foot) yacht is the first to utilise the company’s patented Featherlight blueprint. Nilaya continues to gain attention in the neighbouring area of the Vollenhove facility as the superyacht has left her construction hall and is heading towards mounting her towering rig in Amsterdam. The developer of the yacht has been relentlessly monitoring the building of Nilaya, which has led them to curtail almost 11% of the vessel’s weight with the use of aluminium, other than the conventional metals used in shipbuilding. The most revered ‘Featherlight’ process often resembles the design protocol followed by space agencies...
Waste disposal is one of the significant problems the cruise line industry has been dealing with for quite some time now. However, with the latest advancement shown by 'Symphony of the Seas,' one of the largest cruise ship in the world, the problem of disposing of waste ranging from aluminium bottles, cans or even food materials have become a little less complex. The Symphony of the Seas, operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, is a "zero landfill ship," which implies that it manages its own garbage through recycling and water filtering without polluting the ocean. Also, as per Alex Mago, environmental officer for the ship, the waste management crew divides the Symphony of the Seas' rubbish into recyclables on the lower deck. Aluminium cans and cardboard are fed through a bailer. To keep the...
In Africa & Asia (ex-China), alumina production during December 2022 stood at 1.129 million tonnes, bringing the total output in the fourth quarter to 3.349 million tonnes, found the International Aluminium Institute. The monthly production stood restrained M-o-M and 5 per cent lower Y-o-Y than 1.188 million tonnes, while the quarterly output edged a 4.61 per cent decline Q-o-Q than 3.511 million tonnes and a 1.67 per cent dip Y-o-Y than 3.406 million tonnes. According to IAI data, Africa & Asia’s alumina production reflected a slowdown for a significant period in Q4 2022. Although it started with a sequential rise in October by 6.01 per cent to 1.181 million tonnes, it encountered a downfall and then restraint in the two successive months. In the full-year 2022, Africa & Asia (ex-China)...
The Swedish electric performance car company, Polestar, has signed up with Stena Aluminium for the Polestar 0 project, which aims to create a genuinely climate-neutral car by 2030. Stena Aluminium in Älmhult, Sweden, is the leading aluminium producer using recycled raw materials. However, other than Stena Aluminium and Gränges, the new collaborators in the project include Vitesco Technologies, Schloetter, Autoneum, Stora Enso, TMG Automotive and Borgstena. Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Finland, and Sweden are among the countries represented by these companies. They specialize in electrical inverters, electroplating, interior and exterior materials, biomaterials, wood construction, coatings, textiles, flat rolled aluminium, knitted and woven materials, and recycled aluminium, as well as...
The New South Wales Government has vouched to work together with the most emission-prone industries of the area to morph them into low-carbon facilities. This is to commemorate the milestone-worthy decision the NSW Government made to plot for total decarbonisation in the heavy industrial zones. The most esteemed participants in the drive would be non-ferrous metal manufacturer Tomago Aluminium, chemical discoverer Orica, cement maker Boral and starch-generating group Manildra. Member of the NSW legislative assembly, Mr Kean, exemplified: “We are working with industry to transform NSW into an innovative, thriving low carbon economy. Accelerating the deployment of deep decarbonisation technology will help the industry prosper in a net zero economy and open up new markets for NSW-made...
Hörmann UK, one of Europe's leading suppliers of construction components, expanded their range of aluminium entry doors with the ThermoSafe Decoral line. A line developed to provide customers with a range of high-quality, secure aluminium doors combined with a selection of new modern décor finishes and door styles. The Hörmann ThermoSafe line of doors is made to the highest quality standards and has a strong 73mm door leaf enclosed in an aluminium frame. The door is strong yet beautiful, offering high levels of security, long life, outstanding acoustic insulation, and great thermal qualities with a U-value of 0.87 W/M2K attainable. The advent of the Decoral version expands the ThermoSafe lineup's already wide range of door designs, materials, and colour choices. "The ThermoSafe Decoral...
On Wednesday, February 1, Aluminium Stewardship Initiative announced it successfully certified Yunnan Hongtai New Material Co., Ltd., a subsidiary operation of China Hongqiao Group Co., Ltd., against the Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification. Yunnan Hongtai, located in Wenshan City, is involved in research and development, production and sales of liquid aluminium and aluminium ingots products. Its smelting operations, with a design capacity of 2.03 million tonnes per year of liquid aluminium and aluminium ingot, are based on hydropower. ASI Performance Standard sets out 59 criteria under the three sustainability pillars of Environment, Social, and Governance, which address critical issues like biodiversity, labour rights, Indigenous Peoples rights, and greenhouse gas emissions. On...
A00 aluminium ingot price has escalated by RMB 50 per tonne, halting at RMB 19,010 per tonne, as the Shanghai Metals Market recorded on February 2. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 18,990 per tonne and RMB 19,030 per tonne, with spot contracts trading at discount prices of RMB 120 per tonne and RMB 80 per tonne. The eight provinces in China have witnessed increasing prices today, with aluminium prices heightening the highest in Shenyang and Tianjin by RMB 70 per tonne to rest at RMB 18,980 per tonne and RMB 19,030 per tonne. Other than that, provinces like Gongyi, Foshan, Hangzhou and Chongqing all have seen RMB 60 per tonne hike in aluminium prices, resting at RMB 18,850 per tonne, RMB 19,060 per tonne, RMB 19,020 per tonne and RMB 19,040 per tonne. In Wuxi, the...
According to a report on Wednesday, February 1, Rusal has started producing aluminium-scandium master alloys, the most technologically complex among melted master alloys, at its Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelter. Master alloy is a base metal consisting of a relatively high percentage of one or two other elements and is used to make alloys. The project, with a production capacity of over 5,000 tonnes of melted master alloys per year, needed an investment of US$7.5 million. Employees of the Rusal Engineering and Technology Centre worked hard on the project for several years. The main consumer of the product will be Rusal itself, while some will be supplied to external customers, which are major metal producers in Russia. Rusal is the largest consumer of master alloys in Russia. Earlier, the...
LME aluminium opened at US$2,641.5 per tonne on Wednesday and closed the session at US$2,605.5 per tonne, down US$42.5 per tonne or 1.6 per cent. On Wednesday, February 1, both LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price surged by US$77.5 per tonne or 3.06 per cent and 3.05 per cent to stand at US$2,610 per tonne and US$2,611 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price also hiked by US$68.5 per tonne or 2.66 per cent and US$70 per tonne or 2.71 per cent. December 24 bid price and December 24 offer price gained US$58 per tonne or 2.11 per cent to score at US$2,798 per tonne and US$2,803 per tonne. LME aluminium opening stock halted at 404150 tonnes. Live warrants and Cancelled warrants came in at 231125 tonnes and 173025 tonnes. LME aluminium 3-month...
Introduction Since the last part of 2022, the world has witnessed a number of developments and conflicts in the world of technology. Those had been related to the new-age technology areas known as Exponential Technologies. It started when the San Francisco headquartered & Microsoft-backed company OpenAI launched ChatGPT, an advanced Generative Progressive Transformer (GPT-4) based chatbot. Since the launch, it has disrupted not only the chatbot space but also the overall AI and the perception of the same. Globally the enthusiasts, testers, potential users, competitors and even the scientists started testing the beta version of ChatGPT, and across the board, mesmerisation was the consistent initial reaction. Of course, the free beta version had some limitations, like the training data set...
Recycling is a crucial component of the aluminium sector, which is commercially, technically, and environmentally sound. Similar is the situation with a group of volunteers at St. Bruno Parish in South Greensburg, who are acclaimed for their recycling initiative. In 2016, the Creation Care Team was established due to Pope Francis' encyclical from the year before. Locals have welcomed the Creation Care Team's drop-off recycling programme for commodities like aluminium cans and glass containers. Their efforts have been appreciated by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a Greensburg-based non-profit organisation whose goals include promoting clean-ups of litter and unlawful dumping around the state. According to Tom Niggel, one of the founding members of the volunteer group, "care for the natural...
Zimmatic centre pivot systems are being hailed for successful cultivation around fertile lands in Zimbabwe. The process can be achieved quite easily by laying out aluminium pipelines in order to streamline water to the respective cultivable lands. A second-generation farmer, Tobias Musariri from Chegutu, a province situated 100 kilometres southwest of Harare, acknowledges the role of Zimmatic centre pivots in making his farmland more productive. The aluminium pipeline laid around his fields in the maze farm of Kwamasita allows continuous, yet regulated water flows into the 400 hectares of the commercial valley. "This is a second-generation farm. It was founded by my late father, Tobias Musariri, senior, in 1979, after retiring from the motoring industry. I continued with the farm when he...
Vedanta Limited has curtailed its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices by INR 3,500 per tonne, with effect from February 1, 2023. That brought the company’s aluminium ingot price to INR 238,500-269,000 per tonne versus INR 242,000- 272,500 per tonne on January 31. Vedanta’s aluminium wire rod price has come in at INR 246,000-253,500 per tonne as of February 1, down by INR 3,500 per tonne or 1.4 per cent from INR 249,500-257,000 per tonne on January 31. Aluminium billet price stands at INR 247,500 per tonne, with effect from February 1, in contrast to INR 251,000 per tonne a day ago. Vedanta links its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices to the three-month futures of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange, which declined for the past three consecutive days by US$64.50 per...
Polestar 0 is a project that aims to create a genuinely climate-neutral car by 2030. Gränges will contribute to the research and development of circular and low-climate impact aluminium materials and processes through its expertise in rolled aluminium. Jörgen Rosengren, the CEO of Gränges, said, "We seek to collaborate with companies who share our sustainability ambitions and net-zero targets. To get there, we need to accelerate all parts of the value chain, from material sourcing, recycling, product development and production processes to use the end product. The partnership for Polestar 0 is an excellent example of how we use our expertise in sustainable materials and processes to help customers and partners on their decarbonization journeys." Gränges' strategy is based on...
The leader in aluminium recycling, Hydro Extrusion USA, has been accused of an air pollution crime and charged almost half a million dollars in penalties. The recycling firm has taken up the blame and agreed to pay up. As early as August 2022, Federal prosecutors had led the accusation statement against the recycling firm, which is an inseparable part of Norway-based aluminium giant Norsk Hydro. The legal proceedings are to be held under the Clean Air Act, wherein the party has been found one count guilty of negligence and endangering the atmosphere. The blame was directed at the company’s Dalles facility, which has been storing contaminated aluminium scrap and inducing air pollution during the recycling process. As cited in these official documents by the prosecutors and state...
The Q-Beam Ractical 225 flashlight is designed to withstand harsh weather conditions outside. Drop tested to 30 feet, this sturdy flashlight made of aluminium is waterproof to a depth of 1 meter. With a beam distance of 380 metres, the flashlight covers a wide range of areas. The Q-Beam Ractical 225 aluminium flashlight comes in 3 different modes (high, low and strobe) and features an impact resistance of up to 9 metres. Additionally, this flashlight features three adjustable brightness levels that, depending on the circumstance, may be used as a floodlight or a beacon. With a run time of around 18 hours, this battery-run aluminium lightweight flashlight is one of the most popular flashlights among campers. One of the main reasons for using aluminium in a flashlight is its strength,...
A report has recently revealed that Iran produced 176,239 tonnes of alumina powder in the nine months of the Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2022). The report suggests a 1 per cent rise year-on-year from 175,284 tonnes. In the third quarter (September 21-December 21), Iran’s alumina output amounted to 57,394 tonnes, up by 1.50 per cent over a quarter following a downfall in the previous quarter by 9.20 per cent from 62,291 tonnes to 56,554 tonnes. In the first half of the Iranian calendar year, the alumina powder output in Iran totalled 118,845 tonnes, in contrast to 116,192 tonnes during the same period of the previous year. Alumina powder, also known as aluminium oxide due to its chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen, is an inert, odourless, white amorphous material...
