Power cost of EUR 600 vs EUR 1,800 per tonne: How electricity prices are reshaping Europe’s aluminium industry (Part 1)
How much does it really cost to produce aluminium in Europe, and can the region’s smelters compete with producers in the US and China? Beyond electricity prices, the economics of primary and recycled aluminium, industrial electrification and changing automotive demand are shaping the future of Europe’s aluminium industry. In this exclusive interview with AL Circle, Dr Martin Iffert, Founder and CEO of Martin Iffert Consulting, examines these challenges, discussing smelter economics, recycling competitiveness and the outlook for Europe’s 2040 electrification vision. He also shares his views on Germany’s production landscape and the investments needed to improve productivity and strengthen the aluminium value chain. Dr Iffert brings over 30 years of industry experience. He served as CEO of...
Inside Novelis’ 2030 strategy: Aligning scrap supply, recycling investment and new opportunities in aluminium markets
The AL Circle team caught up with Michael Hahne, Vice President Commercial, Novelis Europe, for a conversation at ALUMINIUM 2026 in Düsseldorf, Germany. With experience across the company’s automotive and beverage can businesses, Hahne brings a commercial perspective to the evolving relationship between aluminium, customer needs and circularity. In this exclusive interview, Hahne explains why aluminium’s next growth chapter will depend on more than expanding production. Securing scrap, closing material loops and turning metallurgical expertise into new customer solutions are becoming central to the industry’s competitiveness. As automotive lightweighting, battery applications and circularity reshape demand, he discusses the strategies behind Novelis’ global footprint and the challenges of...
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“In 2022, we developed 34 new projects, 10 of which were for new clients who chose to believe in us and 24 new orders from long-standing clients who demonstrated their unwavering trust and confidence in our reliability”, Valerio Presezzi, Founder & President, Presezzi Extrusion
AlCircle: How do you visualize the year 2023 for the global aluminium industry, considering the extrusion sector? Valerio Presezzi: Regarding global industry, in 2023, we are not expecting any particular downturns with respect to the trends of recent years. On the other hand, the outlook is clear and decisive in our extrusion and melting industry. The market for system supply is going strong, actually very strong. The global market, in general, is experiencing a fundamental transformation in terms of application. More specifically, many clients are setting themselves up best to satisfy the automotive market and its conversion to electric, as well as the market for high-speed trains and fabrications engineered in aluminium and its alloys. This entails an upwards adjustment in system sizes...
“Projects in 2023 include an increased construction activity at the PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia project for which Progesys is in a consortium providing PMC scope of work for the new Alumina refinery under construction,” Riad Faour, CEO, Progesys
Riad is the founder and CEO of Progesys, responsible for providing leadership and managing the growth of the company. He has over 23 years of experience in project management and executive leadership throughout North America and abroad. He started his career in the aluminium industry in Canada and then in the USA. He worked with owners of assets and projects and engineering firms before he founded Progesys in 2003 and has since been responsible for its growth and expansion to many industries and regions, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. He received the UQAM performance award in 2016 for leadership, entrepreneurship, and international development. Riad is a registered professional engineer. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering from École Polytechnique in...
“2023 should be a good year for the aluminium industry,” C. Brian Hesse, Co-owner, President and CEO of PerenniAL
C. Brian Hesse is co-owner, President, and Chief Executive Officer of PerenniAL, with 26 years of experience in the aluminum industry in a variety of executive leadership, sales and marketing positions. He joined PerenniAL, the then Rusal America, in May 2019 as President and CEO. He led all aspects of the business managing $950 million in revenue per year. He was hired to re-establish, rebrand and lead Rusal’s American operations (after US-imposed sanctions were lifted) for the world’s 2nd largest aluminium company. He has grown the US team from 7 to 19 employees, created a culture of engagement, transparency, and accountability, secured ISO 9001 certification, and returned sales volumes to pre-sanction levels. Since Brian joined Rusal America, aluminium sales tonnes have grown from...
“We are now celebrating 23rd Anniversary and we try to be always a step ahead towards the integration of green technology in the aluminium sectors,” Giovanni Margarotto, Managing Partner of T.T. Tomorrow
Giovanni Magarotto, 62 years old, is the founder and one of the Managing Partners of T.T. Tomorrow Technology. He has worked for 20 years in different fields of chemical, mechanical and metal (aluminium) industries, with a degree in Marketing and Business Administration in Padova and a masters in tax advisor and organisation. In 2000, he founded T.T. Tomorrow Technology, starting his own activity in the aluminium melting and recycling business. T.T. Tomorrow Technology’s core business is the design and production of special Multifunctional Furnace Tending Vehicles, Automatic Charging Systems and Automatic Skimmers, and various other transport vehicles for solid aluminium handling. The aim is to support the melting subsidiary phases of the aluminium casthouse as charging, cleaning and...
"Bathco is saddened to see several of its long-standing partners in Europe shutting down, and see this situation as an opportunity to reboot the industry in Europe on a more sustainable basis", Andreas Schwarz, CEO of Bathco Group.
Andreas Schwarz is the CEO of the Bathco Group, a leading solutions provider in the aluminium industry. With a background in trading functions at Rio Tinto Alcan, Andreas has extensive experience in the industry and has held positions in China, Southern Africa, and Zurich. As CEO of Bathco, he has led the company to new heights and overseen its expansion into new markets worldwide for the last 15 years. AlCircle: What are the core values and drivers that Bathco followed to establish its reputation as one of the aluminium industry's leading service providers? Andreas Schwarz: Bathco has always been highly focused on the aluminium industry and has, over the years, proven its reliability and its strength of innovation. We have built a circular economy around various by-products in the...
EPIQ Machinery: innovation in action
AlCircle: As you always strive to integrate new technologies into equipment, how do you plan to make EPIQ AD, EPIQ Mecfor and EPIQ Brochot more technologically advanced? Éloïse Harvey: Although AD, BROCHOT and MECFOR equipment already have a high level of automation, embedded technologies, and interconnectivity to execute their respective tasks safely, today’s challenge resides in bringing hyper-connectivity and a systematic approach between all equipment fixed and mobile. Not only has that, but the communication (data exchange) between equipment needed to be done at a greater level for the plant to appreciate the Industry 4.0 shift entirely. At EPIQ, we are closely cooperating with major primary aluminium producers to identify proper software layers for our equipment to ensure all...
“In 2023, HWAPENG will still keep itself competitive, focusing on creating values for customers and continuous innovation and breakthroughs,” Kathy Yuan, Head of Overseas Marketing Department at Hwapeng Machinery
AlCircle: What kind of equipment does HWAPENG supply to carbon plants? How do you foresee the year 2023? Kathy Yuan: Since its establishment in 1994, HWAPENG has been specializing in special purpose equipment and intelligent technologies for carbon plants manufacturing anodes, cathodes, graphite electrodes, carbon electrode paste, ramming paste and other carbon and graphite products. Our main equipment include carbon paste preparing system, vibrocompactors, baked anodes robotic cleaning system, extrusion press and hydraulic crusher. Our market share in China is over 90% at present. In 2023, HWAPENG will still keep itself competitive, focusing on creating values for customers and continuous innovation and breakthroughs. HWAPENG will uphold the corporate value of being brave in innovation,...
“The immediate outlook for aluminium remains under some pressure due to its close correlation to the health of the global economy,” Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA)
AlCircle: Could you please briefly tell us about EGA's performance and growth in 2022? Abdulnasser Bin Kalban: Last year was another extraordinary one for our industry. At EGA, we delivered our best-ever financial results by focusing throughout the year on what we control – the safety of our people, operational excellence, our costs, and our commercial relationships with our long-term global customers. We achieved production records at every step of our value chain. Cast metal sales were up seven per cent to 2.72 million tonnes. Some 78% of our sales were value-added products or ‘premium aluminium’. Hot metal production was recorded at 2.65 million tonnes. During the year, we surpassed 40 million tonnes of hot metal produced since the start-up of Jebel Ali in 1979. Alumina production at...
“So far, the aluminium industry has been resilient to the current geopolitical challenges and threats of high inflation,” Patrik Ernst, Director Aluminium Division at REEL International
AlCircle: Do you think the current economic slowdown in Europe will lead to weaker investments in technology and equipment by aluminium companies? Patrik Ernst: So far, the aluminium industry has been resilient to the current geopolitical challenges and threats of high inflation in various countries. We still see several medium and large sizes projects on the horizon, mainly linked to nearshoring strategies. AlCircle: Will you develop any new solution for the aluminium industry this year to boost productivity at a lower cost, given the current inflation scenario? Patrik Ernst: At REEL, we continuously strive for lower cost and higher productivity by adapting the organization to an ever changing market environment and by implementing lean tools and processes in the various departments of...
“As for carbon footprint reduction, at 1MM bottles displaced per year, that equates to ~ 5 tons equivalent of Co2,” Jerrod Freund, Co-Founder of Boomerang Water
Jerrod Freund is a seasoned investment banker with over 20 years of global experience in the industry. As Co-Founder of Boomerang Water, Jerrod is a valuable asset to the Boomerang Water Leadership Team and is dedicated to helping the company achieve its mission of eliminating single-use plastic water bottles and promoting global sustainable water management practices. Here is an excerpt from an interview with him on green initiatives undertaken by Boomerang. AlCircle.com: What inspired the creation of the Boomerang Bottling System (BBS)? Jerrod Freund: While on multiple tours of duty for the air force in the middle east in the mid-2000s, one of our co-founders, Jason dibble, came up with the idea to bottle at the point of use utilizing reusable bottles – the idea was generated as he...
“IB2 Technology combines industrial innovation, resource recovery, OPEX savings, better quality alumina production and waste reduction, which makes it a green initiative”, Yves Occello, CEO, IB2 Technology
“IB2 Technology combines industrial innovation, resource recovery, OPEX savings, better quality alumina production and waste reduction, which makes it a green initiative”, Yves Occello, CEO, IB2 Technology. Yves has 45 years of experience in the bauxite and alumina industry occupying key positions at Pechiney, Alcan and Rio Tinto. He founded Amber Development in 2010, a company specialising in technical and marketing services for the bauxite and alumina industry, where he coordinates the development of IB2™ technology, in which he operates as CEO. Yves holds a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie of Paris and is an Honorary Director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. AlCircle: Please share more about IB2's innovative technology to produce...
“We recognise that climate change is the biggest threat to humanity’s future health and security, and whilst there is a significant amount of work going on to try and reduce or avoid carbon emissions,” Sandy Copeman, Director of Brand and Founder of Amalgam Collection
Sandy Copeman, Director and founder of Amalgam Collection, began his career as a professional model maker, making a tiny model town showcasing the greatest of British architecture, and later as a professional architectural model builder. With Amalgam, he began building ties with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Pagani, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Bugatti, and McLaren, among many other key automotive manufacturers, as well as partnerships with all of the top F1 teams. We are glad to have a conversation with him and get an insight into the sustainability leads taken by Amalgam. AlCircle.com: What gave you the idea to launch Amalgam Collection? Sandy Copeman: I originally co-founded Amalgam with three partners in 1985, and we focused on creating fine architectural models for leading European...
“EEG strongly believes that recycling is one of the best ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the country in terms of consumption and production of materials.” Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Co-founder and Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group (EEG)
Mrs Habiba Hassan Sultan Al Mar’ashi Al Hashimi is the Co-founder and Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), a pioneering non-government organisation established in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1991. She guided EEG to become the first environmental NGO in the world to receive ISO 14001 certification. She single-handedly established the Arabia CSR Network in 2004 as the MENA region’s pioneering and only multi-stakeholder platform with local and multi-national entities. She co-founded the Emirates Green Building Council in 2006 and served it as Treasurer and Board Member. In 2019 she was selected to come on board as a member of a high-level Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance at the invitation of the UN Secretary-General. In July 2021, she was...
“Vestre’s commitment to becoming the world’s most sustainable furniture brand led us to seek Hydro and their CIRCAL, the 75% post-consumer scrap range” Øyvind Bjørnstad, Chief Sustainability Officer, Vestre
Coming from a finance & strategy background, Øyvind has been the chief architect behind Vestre’s corporate strategy, which has put sustainability front and centre, aiming to become the world’s most sustainable furniture company. After almost seven years in the company, he has acquired detailed knowledge of all aspects of the business, from raw material to production and the use phase to the end-of-life and re-uses potential that’s becoming increasingly important. AlCircle: Could you share Vestre’s journey to the world of aluminium furniture? What exactly inspired Vestre to make furniture with low-carbon aluminium? Mr Øyvind Bjørnstad: Most of Vestre’s furniture today is steel, but we have some ranges that are based on aluminium. A big reason is its comparatively lower energy percentage to...
“The Engitec proprietary technology for the secondary aluminium industry is the STE process for treating aluminium salt slag. The process is suitable for large or small productions and can be installed directly at the aluminium recyclers’ site,” Carmelo Maria Brocato, Commercial & Marketing Director, Engitec Technologies S.p.A
AlCircle: Please tell us about the functionalities of your technologies used for recovering aluminium scrap. Do they aid in reducing carbon emissions? Mr Carmelo Maria Brocato: Since the day of its foundation – sometime in 1998 – Engitec Technologies has dedicated its research to technologies related to the circular economy applied to the nonferrous industry. After 25 years after its inception, Engitec is a well-established international global Supplier of high-tech technology and equipment dedicated to the sustainable recycling of various waste from the metallurgical and iron and steel industry, aimed at the recovery of all the components of value they contain. I'm sure our readers are familiar with the way of saying, "it is not possible to unscramble scrambled eggs"…. Well, Engitec has...
“Australia’s alumina refineries are currently undertaking a range of decarbonisation studies in conjunction with Government agencies,” Marghanita Johnson, CEO of the Australian Aluminium Council
Marghanita Johnson has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Aluminium Council since 2019. She has over 25 years of experience in the Australian mining and manufacturing sectors, predominantly within the aluminium industry. Earlier, she led government engagement and advocacy on behalf of Rio Tinto’s Pacific Aluminium assets and also held key climate and sustainability roles at Rio Tinto. We are glad to have a conversation with her and get an insight into the sustainability leads taken by the Australian Aluminium Council. AlCircle: In response to the exponentially growing efforts towards building a sustainable aluminium value chain, what guidelines would you like to introduce for the Australian bauxite miners to reduce mining impacts on the environment, society and economy as...
“Aluminium is a critical enabler of sustainable economic development,” Miles Prosser, Secretary General at IAI
Miles Prosser heads the International Aluminium Institute and is the key spokesperson. In addition to overall co-ordination of the IAI work program and governance issues, he also manages the work programme of the Communications & Promotions Committee. Let us hear from him on green initiatives in the global aluminium industry to achieve a sustainable future. AlCircle: What parameters drive the sustainability initiatives of the IAI and your member companies? Miles Prosser : The IAI has always existed to promote solutions to sustainability issues. Decarbonisation is the most important issue, but we must also focus on other ESG issues. Many aluminium producers are already pioneering technological solutions that reduce their environmental footprint without compromising product quality....
“Rio Tinto is extremely proud of its ability to produce some of the highest quality, lowest-carbon footprint aluminium,” Paramita Das, Head of Metals and Minerals, Marketing and ESG at Rio Tinto
Paramita Das is a global executive with extensive experience in the commodities segment (metal, oil and gas). She leads marketing for metals and minerals globally and the establishment of a more ESG-centric approach in the Atlantic region. Prior to her work in the marketing and development space, Paramita was the Chief of Staff to the CEO of Rio Tinto and Chief Transformation Officer for the Atlantic Operations for the company's aluminium segment. Paramita joined Rio Tinto in 2015, before which, she worked with companies including Sumitomo/UACJ/TAA and BP. She is a passionate advocate for ESG and inclusion. Here is an excerpt from an interview with her on green initiatives undertaken by Rio Tinto. AlCircle: What is Rio Tinto doing to reduce its carbon footprint? Paramita Das:...
