Europe holds 10% of global aluminium extrusion demand, supported by Germany’s Constellium, France’s Hydro Extrusions & Italy’s Metra
Across Europe, aluminium extrusion has become closely woven into some of the region’s biggest industrial and construction markets. From automotive and transport to buildings and industrial applications, extruded profiles are finding demand across a wide range of sectors. This is reflected in Europe’s position in the global market: the region accounted for 12 per cent of global aluminium extrusion capacity, making it the second-largest regional contributor after China. At the same time, Europe represented 10 per cent of global aluminium extrusion usage, out of total global usage of 35.35 million tonnes . With production capacity and usage shares relatively close, Europe’s extrusion capacity and consumption are broadly at par. If we break down Europe’s 10 per cent share of global aluminium...
H1 2026 sees more renewable energy than ever: Here’s a region-by-region guide to renewable energy supply in the recent past
In the first half of 2025, humanity generated more electricity from renewables than from coal for the first time ever. What led to it? It was possible only because of two decades of falling solar panel prices, taller wind turbines, and governments finally treating clean power like an economic opportunity instead of a favour to the planet. But the renewable energy scenario cannot be portrayed as a single global story. To get the full picture, one has to connect dozens of regional stories moving at wildly different speeds. Some countries are already powered almost entirely by sun, wind and water. Others are still warming up. Here is a tour of how renewable energy supply looks across the world’s regions right now, and who is actually leading the charge. The global scorecard: Renewable energy...
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Nearly 8MT aluminium is used in solar photovoltaic – what is happening to its circularity at end-of-life?
End-of-life management of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is fast emerging as a challenge and a strategic priority for manufacturing industries worldwide. Especially, aluminium circularity is becoming a focal point considering the metal accounts for more than about 85 per cent of PV component materials like frames and mounting structures. Truth to be told, solar waste is a growing concern now with the rapid rise in PV installations globally. In 2024, global installed capacity exceeded 2.2 TW, with nearly 600 GW added in a single year. Going by the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) estimation, around 1.7-8 million tonnes of waste are likely to be generated from PV modules by 2030, and that by 2050, is expected to soar to between 60 and 78 million tonnes, a substantial share...
Global alumina output nears 143.5 Mt in 2025, leaving 0.8 Mt surplus - what’s driving the shift and how are top producers adjusting?
Global alumina production is increasing, although the drivers behind the rise are more layered than a straightforward growth story might suggest. Smelter-grade alumina output rose from 134.2 million tonnes in 2023 to 136.9 million tonnes in 2024, after which the curve steepened. For 2025, production is expected to reach between 143.3 and 143.6 million tonnes. That represents an increase of nearly seven million tonnes in a single year, translating into a compound growth rate of around 5 per cent. What’s driving it isn’t sudden optimism or a rush of new approvals. It’s backlog. Capacity that had been planned, financed, delayed, and reworked over several years is finally switching on. In many cases, the hard part - construction, permitting, logistics - is already behind operators. What’s...
Alumina’s journey through 2025: A year known for ambition, friction and recalibration
The story of alumina in 2025 saw every up and down possible and at the same time raced to re-engineer itself to minimise shortfall. The global alumina industry moved in jolts with a plethora of incidents like capacity added in one geography while written off in another, environmental scrutiny tightening just as governments chased self-sufficiency, and supply chains re-routed not by demand, but by policy and power costs. One of the key pieces of good news came from India. Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery reaching 5 million tonnes per annum capacity marked India’s shift in upstream posture. Alumina could no longer be tagged as a supporting input but as a core strategic asset for rapidly developing economies like the aforesaid nation. That intent sharpened with Vedanta’s INR 1 lakh crore...
DAILY: Chinese spot alumina prices inch lower, futures rebound slightly overnight
China's alumina prices for spot sales inched lower again on January 16, while those for futures contracts slightly rebounded during the nighttime trading session following marked daytime losses. The national average spot price for metallurgical-grade alumina with a purity exceeding 98.6 per cent dipped by RMB 5 per tonne (USD 0.7 per tonne) from the previous day to RMB 2,665 per tonne including the 13 per cent VAT last Friday, Mysteel's daily price assessment showed. Also read: Europe imposes anti-dumping duties on imported fused alumina from China The further decline was driven by broadly softer alumina pricing across China's five major alumina-producing regions, according to market watchers. The assessed prices for the same grade of alumina in Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Guizhou...
India: Aluminium prices gain w-o-w as futures remain firm, global supply concerns persist
Domestic aluminium prices in India continued to strengthen w-o-w, supported by upward revisions from primary producers amid firm LME and MCX aluminium futures and ongoing global supply concerns. The price increase came despite adequate domestic availability and only moderate downstream demand, highlighting the continued influence of global market signals on local pricing. Explore- Most accurate data to drive business decisions with Outlook 2026 insights across the value chain According to BigMint's assessment, domestic aluminium ingot prices in Delhi rose by INR 7,000 per tonne, or 2 per cent, w-o-w to INR 322,000 per tonne, while Mumbai prices increased by INR 13,000 per tonne, or 4.2 per cent, w-o-w to INR 325,000 per tonne as of 15 January. How did Indian and global exchanges perform?...
Aluminium Vision 2047 vs Reality in 2025: Ambition, progress, and the gaps in between
To set the context of this piece, it is necessary to understand that India’s Aluminium Vision 2047 and Viksit Bharat are intrinsically aligned and they complement each other’s ambition. Truth be told, achieving the milestones outlined in the Aluminium Vision 2047 can place India on course to realise the broader objectives of Viksit Bharat. Ultimately, both the frameworks envision India as a self-reliant country in terms of robust manufacturing ecosystem, lower import dependence, high per capita consumption & Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and resource efficiency with a circular economy. The deadline for both Aluminium Vision and Viksit Bharat is also the same – 2047, the year India marks centenary of its independence. While there are over 2 decades to achieve the vision but early signs of...
Can US rebar duties, in reality, become aluminium’s next demand engine?
The US’s latest countervailing duty action against rebar imports from Algeria, Egypt and Vietnam is definitely a steel story. But in the layer under, it is shaping up to be a structural aluminium demand event for the North American construction ecosystem. In January 2026, the US Department of Commerce imposed preliminary countervailing duties of 72.94 per cent on Algerian rebar, 29.51 per cent on Egyptian material and 1.08 per cent on Vietnamese shipments, on top of the blanket 50 per cent steel and aluminium tariff regime. The move followed investigations launched in mid-2025 after domestic producers alleged heavy subsidisation and dumping. Also read: Role of energy prices 2025 and outlook in aluminium’s next 25 years, considering three likely distinct scenarios The immediate effect...
China's aluminium scrap prices surge to a record high
As of January 14, the average price for domestically-generated #6063 aluminium scrap in South China's Guangdong province had jumped 7.9 per cent from the end of last month to reach RMB 19,150 per tonne (USD 2,746 per tonne), the highest level since Mysteel commenced tracking the price in 2023. To know more about the global primary aluminium industry 2026 outlook, pre-book the report " Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2026 ” at a special price. By the same day, China's composite primary aluminium price had also touched a near 19-year high of RMB 24,645 per tonne, including the 13 per cent VAT, Mysteel assessed. "Rising geopolitical tensions worldwide have recently sparked global concerns about the supply stability of nonferrous materials, which are pushing up prices of key metals such as...
India’s aluminium scrap imports grow at 8.6% CAGR over a decade: what’s driving scrap use and what comes next as policies evolve
A decade ago, aluminium scrap accounted for a relatively small share of India’s metals trade, with primary aluminium forming the backbone of supply for most downstream applications. But that hierarchy no longer holds. By 2025, aluminium scrap had moved from the sideline to the centre of India’s secondary aluminium and alloy production. Imports crossed the 2 million tonne mark for the first time, and the country remained nearly 85 per cent dependent on overseas scrap. What was once a supplementary input had quietly become indispensable. India’s aluminium scrap imports rose steadily over the past decade, almost doubling from 0.88 million tonnes in CY’15 to nearly 2 million tonnes in CY’25. Steady growth was measured rather than dramatic - imports edged up from 0.92 million tonnes in CY’16...
Role of energy prices 2025 and outlook in aluminium’s next 25 years, considering three likely distinct scenarios
Call it destiny or plain arithmetic, aluminium’s decarbonisation story now hinges on energy prices. The Hall-Héroult smelting process is evidently electricity-intensive, so swings in oil, gas, coal and (crucially) electricity prices feed directly into producers’ margins, and definitely into the calculus for switching smelters to renewables or cleaner fuels. Also read: Global bauxite production refused to blink in 2025, leading to an output exceeding 475 MT Starting with the numbers The IEA’s World Energy Outlook provides the baseline price paths used by markets and planners. Crude oil averaged about USD 79 per barrel in 2024, and under the IEA scenarios, oil will range roughly between USD 33-106 per barrel by 2035, depending on the policy pathway (Stated Policies Scenario vs Current...
Africa eyes 7MT of alumina by 2030 through new refineries – know how it will reshape the continent’s aluminium ecosystem
Ships leave Guinea’s ports every day loaded with bauxite destined for refineries thousands of miles away, while only a fraction of that ore is ever transformed at home. This contrast captures the essence of Africa’s aluminium story - a sector - rich in resources, steady in operations, yet still waiting for its value chain to come together. Over the past five years, Africa’s alumina capacity has remained unchanged at 0.65 million tonnes, while production has followed a clear cycle of decline and recovery. Output eased from 0.439 million tonnes in 2020 to 0.414 million tonnes in 2021, reflecting a 5.7 per cent year-on-year decline. The downturn intensified in 2022, when production fell to 0.340 million tonnes, a sharper 17.9 per cent contraction from the previous year. The decline extended...
China sets five-year targets for renewable resource recycling
Under the Action Plan for Promoting the Application of Recycled Materials, by 2030, China aims to achieve an annual recycling volume of over 300 million tonnes for steel scrap and 80 million tonnes for wastepaper, as well as annual production exceeding 25 million tonnes of secondary nonferrous metals and 19.5 million tonnes of recycled plastics. To know more about the global primary aluminium industry 2026 outlook, pre-book the report " Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2026 ” at a special price. By 2025, China's total steel scrap recycling volume was around 255 million tonnes, while that of waste paper was 72.5 million tonnes, Mysteel's survey showed. The country's central government will further enhance the supply of renewable resources by promoting technological upgrades and building...
India aluminium ADC12 prices rise over 5 per cent in CY'25; will prices hold in Q1CY'26?
GST 2.0 reforms improved vehicle affordability, boosting demand India's ADC12 aluminium alloy ingot prices strengthened on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis in calendar year (CY) 2025, supported by firmer domestic market fundamentals. Average OEM ADC12 prices in Delhi increased from INR 213,875 per tonne in CY'24 to INR 225,375 per tonne in CY'25, reflecting a 5.4 per cent rise y-o-y. To know more about the global primary aluminium industry 2026 outlook, pre-book the report " Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2026 ” at a special price. Likewise, average OEM prices in Chennai climbed from INR 215,450 per tonne to INR 226,021 per tonne, marking a 5 per cent increase y-o-y. The average price spread between ADC12 and tense scrap narrowed slightly to INR 35,000-36,000 per tonne in 2025, compared...
From peak to plunge: What puts Australia alumina FOB price under pressure in 2025 and what it looks like in 2026
For over a year now, the Australian alumina market has rarely stayed out of the headlines. Sometimes due to capacity curtailment at refineries and sometimes because of the volatile Free On Board (FOB) price, which swung dramatically within a span of a year from as high as USD 700 per tonne in Q4 2024 to USD 317 per tonne in Q4 2025. Factors like freight rates and currency movements to investor sentiment pull at the price lever, yet the fundamental triad of production, demand, and supply plays the most critical role in directing the price movement. Australia’s benchmark role in the global alumina trade For being the world’s second-largest supplier of alumina after Guinea, Australia’s alumina FOB price is widely treated as a benchmark for long-term contracts, hedging strategies, and spot...
Post-Venezuela’s capture, 7 countries tremble, fearing for their independence and their reserves
Trump’s foreign policy is now openly borrowing from the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, re-packaged as the “Donroe Doctrine” — a doctrine that signals Washington’s intent to dominate the Western Hemisphere not only militarily, but commercially. With Nicolás Maduro dragged out of Caracas, this rebranding suddenly feels operational rather than rhetorical. Also read: Before sanctions on Venezuela and the likes, Trump’s tariff-induced tussle was already global From the Arctic to the Caribbean, governments are suddenly scanning their coastlines, their oil fields and their shipping lanes with fresh anxiety. Greenland The United States already operates the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, but Trump has made it clear that partial presence is no longer enough. "We need Greenland from the standpoint of...
MONTHLY: China's alumina supply-demand gap may widen in January
Last December, the impact on overall alumina output of more frequent production suspensions for routine maintenance and air pollution controls was limited. At the end of last year, most domestic alumina refiners operated steadily throughout the month to meet existing long-term contractual obligations and pursue potential new contracts, the report noted. Explore- Most accurate data to drive business decisions with 50+ reports across the value chain According to Mysteel's monthly survey, during December, production of metallurgical-grade alumina among the 44 Chinese refiners under its regular tracking rose by 2.1 per cent from November to 8 million tonnes, marking the highest monthly level since Mysteel began tracking the data in January 2017. The on-month increase was largely because...
Global bauxite production refused to blink in 2025, leading to an output exceeding 475 MT
Image for reference only The global bauxite production for 2025 stands at an estimated 475-480 million tonnes, as per AL Circle research. The year has seen it all. From sanctions to initiations, hikes to deflations and a series of volatilities hitting the industry over and over. But the bauxite industry has pushed through all obstacles and maintained the year’s forecast. What all shaped the industry last year? Here’s a list of major to minor incidents that influenced global bauxite 2025. Explore- Most accurate data to drive business decisions with our Outlook 2026 insight s across the value chain Courts, coffers and the opening bell of disruption It began with a surge of capital into Guinea when Arrow Minerals secured USD 7 million to accelerate its Niagara bauxite and Simandou North...
India cracks $50B iPhone exports, auto components are the next target with a 5 year CAGR of 14% - what it means for aluminium?
After turning iPhones into a USD 50 billion export success and building a global presence in electronics, India is now trying to answer a harder question: can auto components deliver the same scale of growth in global markets? The government believes the answer could be yes - but only if the sector can replicate what electronics got right: standards alignment, manufacturing depth and integration into global supply chains. The confidence to attempt this shift comes from the electronics success history, which is now reinforcing confidence that a similar export breakthrough is possible in auto components. Electronics production rose nearly six-fold from INR 1.9 billion (USD 30.7 million) in 2014 - 15 to INR 1.13 trillion (USD 12.5 billion) in 2024 - 25, while mobile phone exports jumped 127...
