Anna Fenger Technology - 27/May/2021

On the hunt for low-carbon aluminium

Recycling existing aluminium has significant carbon benefits compared to producing brand new material. However, the limited resources cannot keep up with the growing demand. The industry is looking to reduce carbon intensity while maintaining aluminium’s benefits

Given the long lifetime of products that use the material, recycling rates of aluminium cannot keep pace with the growing demand

HIGH DEMAND Aluminium’s properties make it a popular choice across many manufacturing sectors looking to decarbonise, with demand increasing until mid-century

HIGH CARBON Production of new aluminium is carbon-intensive because it relies heavily on electricity, which is still mainly generated from fossil fuels in many parts of the world

KEY QUOTE I can’t imagine that we could succeed with the green transition without aluminium ...

 

Try FORESIGHT - 30 days for €29

Already a subscriber?

Login



Comments are closed.

Related articles

Welcome to resource city

A long disused industrial site is reborn as a highly advanced waste sorting and recycling centre

Read more

waste pollution

We live in a material world

Waste pollution in product lifecycles is set to ease: beer bottles made from wood‚ toilet rolls from sour milk; biodegradable plastic packing; and LEGO bricks in a new material

Read more

Embodied carbon the new frontier

The world’s building stock is forecast to double in size by 2050 to house a global population of 11 billion. If climate neutrality is also to be met by this date, the construction industry will have to significantly slash emissions from the materials it uses

Read more

Why do we favour renewables over energy efficiency?

It is beyond discussion that the global climate emergency calls for solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and requires decarbonisation. Often, the spotlight is aimed at renewable energy as the solution, but in fact, we can achieve 44% of the required global reductions by capturing the potential of energy efficiency, argues Lars Knaack of Novenco

Read more

A waste incinerator with a rooftop ski run

A unique engineering project has raised the bar for efficient energy capture from incineration of garbage and provided a sports facility in an urban location

Read more

A clean-energy future is reliant on sustainable mining and cement

The mining and cement industries contribute over 10% of the world’s CO₂ emissions but demand in both industries remains high. It is, therefore, imperative that decarbonisation efforts should be accelerated, argues Thomas Schulz, CEO of engineering firm FLSmidth

Read more

Wind turbines in a race to become even cleaner

The growth of wind power capacity is accelerating globally, with 2020 a record year for new installations. But with the expansion comes a growing mass of production waste, emissions from manufacturing and transport, and discarded components from retired machines. The industry’s turbine makers are facing up to the problem but proposed solutions remain commercially immature

Read more