Beyond aluminium smelting capacity, we propose to incentivise emissions cuts to support wider decarbonisation: Ed Boyd, Mission Possible Partnership
As the European Council seeks political alignment on the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), the debate over how to accelerate aluminium decarbonisation in bringing emissions accounting and demand for low-carbon metal into focus. Against the backdrop of Mission Possible Partnership’s (MPP) open letter, AL Circle speaks with Ed Boyd, MPP’s Global Policy Lead, about the policies needed to support the European aluminium industry’s transition. Boyd argues that effective decarbonisation must account for emissions from alumina refining and track Scope 2 emissions associated with purchased electricity. On mandatory green procurement and lead-market thresholds of at least 50 per cent for aluminium, he says producers are ready to supply low-carbon metal at scale and considers the proposed threshold...
EU-India FTA, CBAM and carbon costs: Can Indian aluminium crack the European market?
A former Deputy Secretary General of the European Parliament and Director of the EPP Group, Paolo Licandro, has extensive experience in European policymaking, international relations, industry, energy and EU affairs. He is currently the Founder and CEO of eEuropa Belgium and Editor of eEuropa.Blog. He has worked with European prime ministers, ministers and EU commissioners and has held senior roles covering EU enlargement, Mediterranean and Middle East relations, and industry, research and energy. A nuclear engineer, he holds a master’s degree from Politecnico di Milano and has worked with ENI, ARS-Pragma and the EU Joint Research Centre. In this interview, Paolo Licandro shares his perspective on EU–India aluminium trade, CBAM and the opportunities for Indian producers in Europe. AL...
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“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:...
“The main goal of the GreenAlum project is the development of innovative technologies in the aluminium industry and machine tool building,” Sergey Kidakov, Founder, GreenAlum
Sergey Kidakov holds a degree in engineering specializing in railways and automobiles. Additionally, he has a higher education degree in Information Technology (IT) in communication and telecommunications. His experience includes supporting and developing IT startups, and he has been solving problems in the aluminium industry through the GreenAlum project for the last eight years. AlCircle: Please share with us more about the work GreenAlum does. How is GreenAlum supporting the aluminium industry's transition to sustainability? Mr Sergey Kidakov : The GreenAlum project has existed since 2014. The main goal of the project is the development of innovative technologies in the aluminium industry and machine tool building. Over the past three years, energy-efficient and environmentally...
“We see the demand for aluminium products with a high recycling share across most of our markets, particularly in the automotive industry, the beverage cans sector, as well as the building & construction”, Moritz Hansen, Head of Communication & Marketing, Speira
An aspiring person, Moritz Hansen is in charge of communication and marketing at Speira, one of the most exciting companies within the aluminium industry. Since 2016, he has made his way in the aluminium sector. Hansen earned an Exec MBA from Amsterdam Business School as well as a Master of Arts in Political Communication. He also serves on Speira's Executive Management Team, responsible for Marketing, Communication, and Sustainability. AlCircle: What measures have you initiated or already undertaken to declare Speira net zero by 2045? Don't you think this commitment is too ambitious? Moritz Hansen: We are building our net zero roadmaps on four key pillars. We will constantly reduce our direct emissions (Scope 1) and indirect emissions (Scope 2) through electrification and alternative...
“Ball offers AI-based solutions to customers, like QR codes which can facilitate various interactions between brands and their customers and which we can print on cans”, Amit Lahoti, Senior Commercial Director & General Manager – Asia, Ball Beverage Packaging.
AlCircle: “Ball is bringing innovations in sustainable packaging that will help people live more sustainably and improve the health of the planet,” - following the information on your website, may we please ask what are initiatives taken by ball under its sustainability mission? Amit Lahoti: Ball is a leading manufacturer of aluminium beverage cans, the world's most recycled drinks package. We have a responsibility to our stakeholders and the planet to improve our business's environmental performance, social impact and economic returns and to take a leading role in driving industry-wide solutions to the climate crisis. Ball has been engaged in sustainability initiatives for many years. Our sustainability vision comprises Product Stewardship and Social Impact. For Product Stewardship, we...
