
Australia could turn more of its aluminium and copper resources into higher-value battery components, with a new report from national science agency CSIRO identifying opportunities to strengthen the country's domestic battery manufacturing capabilities. The report, The Future of Australian Battery Manufacturing: Cell Cans and Current Collector Foils, examines how Australia could use its existing industrial expertise, materials and manufacturing capabilities to produce key components for lithium-ion and emerging sodium-ion batteries. Rather than focusing solely on the country's critical mineral resources, the analysis explores practical ways to move further downstream and capture more value through local manufacturing. The opportunity comes as global demand for batteries continues to grow,...
Germany and France share one of Europe’s busiest downstream aluminium corridors, and the metal flows in both directions. In the first seven months of 2026, aluminium flat rolled products (FRP), which cover aluminium plates, sheets and strips (HS code: 7606), as well as aluminium foil (HS code: 7607), crossed the border each way, amounting to a total of around USD 692 million. However, the bilateral trade flow is tilted towards Germany, which remains France’s largest FRP supplier. Nonetheless, the inter-dependence remains as the countries do exchange the same products but engage in cross-border trade of specialised high-value products and alloys, feeding the demand on either side. The trade figures for January–July 2026, as compiled from the International Trade Administration, highlight...
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Alcoa announced today that it will supply ArmX aluminum armor kits to Oshkosh Defense for the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) A4. The c-kit armor provides blast protection for the underside of the vehicle. The announcement was made today at the AUSA show in Washington, DC. We made Oshkosh’s design concept for their HEMTT blast shield a reality by producing the 14 subassembly components,” said Dobson. “Our aluminum manufacturing expertise allowed us to take two-inch thick ArmX plate, which is made from the ballistic temper of alloy 7085, and form it into complex shapes. Alcoa’s unique capabilities in bending thick plate while maintaining its strength is unmatched by other manufacturers.”

China Steel Corporation (CSC) plans to invest 0.65billion RMB in Anhui Huaian’s high-end aluminum production. The reason for CSC to invest in Huaian is because Huaian has convenient location and cost advantages.The investment is aimed at providing high end aluminum products to IT industry and high-end manufacturing,Wei Fengyi, general manager of CSC said when he was investing in Huanan. China Steel Corporation is the largest aluminum enterprise in Taiwan which mainly produces aluminum plates,sheets and zinc alloy ingots.In recent years, it has headed for investment in China mainland and established factory in Ningbo.

Aluminum demand may climb by 8 percent to 10 percent annually over the next three to five years on buying from Asia, led by China, and as more of the metal is used in cars and cans, according to Novelis Inc. “We are seeing some demand increases in automobiles and we continue to see year over year increases in terms of consumer electronics, cans and transportation and construction alike,” Philip Martens, chief executive officer of the company that turns aluminum into products for Coca-Cola Co. and Ford Motor Co., said in an interview today in Seoul. “If you go out for five years, we see a fantastic outlook for aluminum,” Martens said. Novelis will expand its rolling capacity by 33 percent by 2014 or 2015 and remains committed to the plan, he said. Aluminum will have the biggest annual...

Norsk Hydro ASA plans to significantly expand the fabrication division within its extrusion group with an eye toward developing downstream business. Matthew Dionne, North American extrusion sector president, is spearheading the company’s fabrication efforts, a Hydro spokesman told AMM. "Hydro is organizing their resources so they can work with their customers from the extrusion through to the finished product. They’re significantly expanding their internal resources to support customers on the fabrication side," the Hydro spokesman said. "Basically, they’re positioning themselves to be a one-stop shop." Hydro will fabricate extruded shapes into a variety of parts, including aluminum frames for camping tents, components for lawn mowers or parts for automobiles, the spokesman said.

According to a recent SMM survey of domestic 20 aluminum profile producers with total capacity of 1.15 million mt/yr, overall operating rates were 71.42% during September, generally flat with August level. The survey reveals that operating rates at medium and large producers remained at about 70% given strong orders, while operating rates at small producers fell to 53% due to weak orders caused by plummeting aluminum prices.

The car maker Nissan has taken a swipe at the federal government's carbon tax plan saying it threatens the viability of the last of its Australian manufacturing operations. The Japanese company announced USD 4 million expansion of its Dandenong casting plant which has diversified to make add on such as towbars and nudge bars that it used to import from Asia but said the business could close if the tax was introduced. Mr Dan Thompson CEO of Nissan Australia said that ''A so called carbon tax, looming as a hurdle to Australian manufacturing, won't help. Our business plan figures are finely balanced and based on a predictable and measured business environment.” Mr Thompson said that what might change, and what we do not welcome, is the prospect of rapidly inflating resources costs which will...

Aluminum extrusion market price is flat with potential weakness at around JPY 715 per kilogram for aluminum alloy bar for A5056B, JPY 780 for free cutting bar for A2011B and JPY 545 for shape for A5056B around Tokyo. The dealers built up the aluminum extrusion inventory through June. Some dealers stopped the purchase in September to reduce the inventory. However, the dealer source sees some dealers would reduce the selling price for liquidation. The price would decrease.

Casting technique for aluminum slab ingot of Nanshan Aluminium Co.Ltd has successfully passed examination of State Intellectual Property Office and won the national invention patent. This casting technique has various advantages such as easy operation, resource saving, safety and efficiency, low cost, etc. It can also produce more than two kinds of ingots at one time. The technique dose not only eliminate potential safety problems in production but also reduces the casting time by half, which greatly improves the production efficiency and lowers cost.

Neapco Holdings today announced the launch of its Asia Business Office in Shanghai, China, as part of an ongoing expansion to serve the global demands of its customers and suppliers worldwide. Located in the center of the growing Chinese automotive market, the office will provide technical and program support for Neapco’s growing number of automotive suppliers in Asia, as well as support Neapco customers with their global automotive sourcing for halfshafts, driveshafts, differentials and aluminum die castings. The office also is responsible for developing future business and manufacturing opportunities. “This is a significant step as we continue to broaden our global automotive customer and supply base, and as we develop our plans for a major manufacturing presence in China,” said Robert...

Jindal Aluminium will invest Rs 500 crore to set up a factory for making foils and sheets near its existing extrusion facility in Bangalore, a top company official said today. "The plant will come up near our plant in Bangalore. It will go on stream by March next year. We are investing Rs 500 crore on the plant. This will make foils and sheets," Jindal Aluminium's Executive Director B D Garg told PTI. The company, promoted by S R Jindal, younger brother of O P Jindal, has already acquired 50 acres of land and has placed orders for plant and machinery. "In the very first year of operation, production will be around 12,000 tonnes per annum, which would be ramped up to 35,000 tonnes a year in three years," Garg said. Buoyed by the growing demand from the packaging industry, India had to...

Southwest Aluminium Co., Ltd has provided high qualified aluminium profiles and aluminum bars for Tiangong-1’s structural parts and solar panel. These aluminium materials have reached international advanced standards in integrated performance such as strength, plasticity, corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance. Southwest Aluminium has provided a great deal of highly qualified aluminum materials for China’s national key projects such as artificial satellite, Shenzhou spacecrafts and Chang’E lunar satellite. Chongqing people and Chongqing enterprises have contributed a lot to the brilliant history of China’s aerospace industry.

The federal government's quest to double the average car's fuel economy by 2025 has intensified the long-running battle between steel and aluminum producers over one of their biggest customers. Both industries are pouring millions of dollars into new mills capable of making the lighter, stronger metals needed to take 400 pounds -- about 10 percent -- out of the average car. That's the weight reduction needed to meet the proposed fleet standard of 54.5 miles per gallon, according to Ducker Worldwide, a research firm that advises steel and aluminum producers. The drive for lighter vehicles has helped aluminum to make steady inroads into what is the steel industry's second biggest customer. About 30 percent of car hoods and 20 percent of bumper beams are aluminum, according to Ducker. The...

Guiyang Baiyun aluminium industry base is a key industrial park of Guizhou province. It is also the top 10 Guiyang industrial parks and main battlefield of Guiyang’s stimulus plan for six key industries. Baiyun aluminium industry base mainly relies on leading enterprises such as Chinalco,Guizhou Branch and Guizhou Aluminium and extends its aluminum processing chain to attract investment. It is estimated that during the 12th five year plan the total investment would reach 6billion RMB and production capacity would reach 450,000 tons. Baiyun district aims at making it the largest aluminium industry base in China.

The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) has released the results of a study that confirms, not surprisingly, the material and economic advantages of using extruded aluminum for solar structural framing applications. Material, fabrication, transportation, and field assembly costs were estimated and vetted for use in the study. The study, Manufacturing and Lifecycle Cost Analysis for Aluminum Solar Structures by IBIS Associates--a technology research and consulting firm, proves that there are compelling technical and economic reasons to consider and use extrusions for parabolic trough and other structural applications. The IBIS study provides compelling technical and economic reasons to consider and use extrusions for parabolic trough and other structural applications, whether considering...

An expected swerve in commodity prices has compounded miseries for utensil manufacturers in Jagadhri, the metal town of Haryana, as growth figures both on domestic end as well as export end are likely to be under stress. Bharat Garg, general secretary of Jagadhri Metal Association, maintained that growth in the aluminum utensil market this year is not likely to match growth in the previous years. “Definitely we are not looking at growth we achieved last year both in domestic front as well as exports front,” he said. Commodity prices since last few months have been vacillating amidst concern of slowing down of manufacturing activity in most of the economies across globe. Amidst concerns of slowing manufacturing growth this is likely to result in slowing demand for raw materials. Tarun...

As the U.S. manufacturing industry seeks innovative techniques to stay relevant in a technology-driven marketplace, keep costs down for customers, and remain competitive in a somewhat fragmented market, "American-made" Taber Extrusions has announced several extrusion capabilities for U.S.-based machine shops based on current market demand among OEMs and various end users. For over thirty-five years, Taber Extrusions has worked with this specific vertical in designing custom aluminum extruded shapes that significantly reduce machine time and material costs. The company's large press facility located in Russellville, Arkansas, has two specific capabilities that appeal to machine shops: first, the facility can manufacture solid extrusions up to 31 inches wide and over 100 pounds per foot;...

Committed to its vision of building quality projects for the future, Teejan Group of Companies will be the sub contractor for the biggest downstream aluminium plant in the country. To ensure excellence and provide expertise for this project, Teejan Trading and Contracting Company, the flagship company of the Teejan Group has been chosen by FATA EPC. The agreement between the two companies was signed recently at a ceremony held at Grand Hyatt, Muscat. On behalf of Teejan Group, Fawzi Hamad al Harrasi, Executive Director of the Group, signed the accord with Anthony Tropeano, CEO of FATA EPC.

The European Commission has decided not to oppose the proposed acquisition by CITIC Dicastal Wheel Manufacturing, a wholly owned subsidiary of China's CITIC Group, of German automotive parts manufacturer KSM Castings Verwaltungsgesellschaft and KSM Castings Holding, the EC said Thursday. KSM develops, manufactures and sells light metal (primarily aluminium) castings, focusing on powertrain and body components as well as safety-critical chassis parts. CITIC Dicastal is the world's largest maker and supplier of casting aluminium alloy wheels in terms of 2010 revenue.