Aluminium industry reports reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

According to figures by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), for the first time, the greenhouse gas emissions of the global aluminium sector have not increased although the production of aluminium has.

The newest available data for 2022 according to the IAI show that the production of aluminium has increased by 3.9% from 104.1 million tonnes to 108.2 million tonnes. Greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) in the sector however have seen a slight drop from 1.13 giga-tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) to 1.11 giga-tonnes of CO2e, and the intensity of GGE emissions from primary aluminium production (the average amount of emissions from producing one tonne of primary aluminium) has been decreasing since 2019.
In the year 2022, the intensity dropped by 4.4% from 15.8 tonnes of CO2e per tonne to 15.1 tonnes of CO2e per tonne. The light metal aluminium is regarded as an important pioneer for reducing emissions in other sectors – automotive, traffic, construction, as well as packaging for food and beverages. The potential is being leveraged through both primary and recycled aluminium, with the production of primary aluminium having increased from 67.1 million tonnes in 2021 to 69.0 million tonnes in 2022, according to the IAI.
“The data for 2022 demonstrate the efficiency of the efforts undertaken by the aluminium industry to lessen the intensity of the emissions from their production. There still remains much to do, but 2022 was the first year in which the reduction of the intensity of emissions balanced the growth in production”, IAI general secretary Miles Prosser comments on the result. The newest trend is said to be the result of significant investments of the sector into research, development and the introduction of new technologies, innovative techniques and changes in the supply of energy.
The IAI has followed more than 50 projects across the entire sector which contribute to this trend – across all important regions of production and for all necessary technological pathways. Special mention should be made of the changes concerning the energy supply for melting aluminium, as this process causes the largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions within the aluminium industry.
A shift towards more hydropower in China, the world’s largest producer of aluminium, and a greater use of electricity from renewable sources in other regions, including the Middle East and Australia, would contribute to the decoupling effect observed. There are also said to be investments into other important technologies, e.g., switching to different fuels for refining aluminium oxide and increasing the recycling and efficiency rates for aluminium.
Source: IAI