En+ Group recently produces the world’s highest purity aluminium with lowest carbon footprint

The metals segment of En+ Group, the world’s largest low-carbon aluminium and independent hydropower producer, has recently produced aluminium with the industry’s lowest carbon footprint. Carbon generated during smelting per tonne of metal was less than 0.01 tonnes. So, the purity of the aluminium produced was higher than 99 per cent.

The lowest-carbon aluminium was produced at En+ Group’s experimental industrial site of the new-generation inert anode electrolysers, located at the Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Plant (KrAZ). The capacity of the electrolysers is to produce about 1 tonne of aluminium per day at a current of 140,000 A.

According to Lord Barker of Battle, Executive Chairman of En+, this achievement represents a significant step towards the goal of net-zero carbon by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35 per cent by 2030.

He said the group’s new-generation inert anode electrolysers are a revolutionary technology, in which inert anodes replace standard carbon anodes with inert, non-consumable materials – ceramics or alloys, which results in a major reduction of emissions from the smelting process. Metal produced with inert anodes has an 85 per cent lower carbon footprint in comparison with full-scope industry average emissions.

Another notable benefit of this technology is the release of oxygen during smelting. One inert anode cell can generate the same volume of oxygen as 70 hectares of forest.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, En+ Group is also modernising its facilities and developing new technologies or introducing the best available ones. Besides, En+ Group Metals segment is creating a line of economic, lightweight, and highly durable aluminium-scandium alloys, in a bid to reduce carbon footprint levels in the transport sector. The Group is also ramping up production of its low carbon aluminium brand ALLOW.