INNOVATIVE, CIRCULAR & LOW-CARBON PRODUCTS THANKS TO ALUMINUM
Every one of us uses aluminum daily.It is in the phone you use, the car you drive, the can you drink from, and the pans you cook with.Aluminum's endless recyclability and unique properties bring remarkable advantages to mobility, building & construction, packaging, and more.But did you know that aluminum also plays a vital role in the transition to a more sustainable energy system and a greener, more circular economy?Aluminum is a critical component in solar panels, electrical transmission systems, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles, for example.Read all about the many uses of our “anything but basic” metal below!
The metal for today, tomorrow – forever
Aluminum is the world’s most used non-ferrous metal – and for good reasons. In its use phase, aluminum delivers significant energy and CO2 savings that enable the decarbonization of other sectors, including mobility and transport, buildings, packaging and clean energy technologies. The endless recyclability of our metal further contributes to decarbonization and the circular economy. Because aluminum can be recycled over and over again, it is no surprise that 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still on the market today!
Renewables & Electricity Transmission
Aluminum is at the heart of world’s green energy transition. It is used in almost all energy generation, transmission, and storage technologies: from wind and solar power to alternative fuel cells and hydrogen production to high-voltage cables and batteries. Not only is aluminum highly conductive and lightweight, but thanks to its corrosion resistance, it is also the ideal material for harsh outdoor conditions. It is easy to install, low maintenance, and durable, ticking all the boxes for renewable energy generation systems. Aluminum alloys consistently exceed other metals for mechanical stability, dampening, thermal management, and reduced weight.
Aluminum: an enabler of solar power solar
Aluminum metal already accounts for more than 85% of the materials used in solar power frames. It can even improve the efficiency of solar cells themselves, thanks to the material’s unique reflectivity properties.
Aluminum is also used widely in on-shore and off-shore wind power farms, including tower platform components, transformer stations, and turbines.
Aluminum is more widely used in battery enclosures.
Aluminum's thermal conductivity helps batteries from overheating or cooling down too much, improving a battery’s performance and life cycle. Researchers are also working on an aluminum-ion battery technology that could be far more powerful than conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Aluminum has been used in high-voltage transmission lines since 1945 and is the most economical way to transmit electric power today.
New applications to unlock the full potential of alternative fuels with aluminum are under development. For example, researchers from the prestigious MIT University are developing a cost-effective method for generating large amounts of hydrogen fuel using the reactivity of aluminum with water. This process does not produce greenhouse gas emissions and would enable hydrogen fuel to be produced on-site and on-demand.
You will also find our metal in radiators because aluminum allows them to heat up rapidly and warm up your room much quicker than steel or cast-iron radiators. Combined with its endless recyclability, it makes aluminum a much more environmentally friendly option.
Mobility & Transport
Aluminum is a real catalyst for low-carbon mobility. The beauty of light weighting vehicles with aluminum is that it reduces the energy needed to move from A to B; and brings all associated benefits like CO2 reduction, better air quality, and cost savings. Because of these unmatched benefits, aluminum is increasingly the material of choice for all kinds of vehicles: cars, trucks, planes, ships, trains, and even space shuttles! Aluminum's growing use in mobility is excellent news for a circular economy as well: using aluminum ensures high recycling rates at the end of life. More than 90% of the metal is recovered after the end of the vehicle’s use phase and re-used to create new aluminum products with only a fraction of the energy needed to produce primary aluminum.
The electric vehicle revolution has boost demand for our material further.
You need aluminum to improve the range of electric vehicles, ensure their batteries stay cool, and for their charging infrastructure.
Aluminum helps electric and hybrid cars stay light, which is one of the most effective ways to improve a vehicle’s energy efficiency.
The lighter the vehicle is, the longer it can drive on one charge. Because of its thermal management properties, aluminum is also the perfect material for battery boxes, cooling systems, and energy storage.
But the contribution of our metal to the electric vehicle revolution does not stop there. Thanks to its high strength and durability, aluminum is the material of choice for charging poles and cables supporting energy transfer and the renewable energy systems that feed into them.
Aluminum allows airplane manufacturers to light weight internal components, such as passenger seats, saving weight, fuel, and CO2 emissions. What’s more, aluminum's resistance to corrosion and UV damage ensures the safety of the aircraft and its passengers.
Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, aluminum has been the material of choice for all types of space structures. Thanks to its high strength-to-weight ratio and ability to withstand the stresses of launch and space operations, aluminum has been used in several space missions, including the Apollo missions, Skylab, space shuttles, and the International Space Station.
For transporting goods and raw materials across large geographical areas, aluminum also enables considerable cost savings because aluminum railcars and vessels can take on increased payloads and are highly durable, often compensating for their higher purchasing costs in under two years.
In 2015, allowed to truck's cabins to be longer, increasing their safety and aerodynamics.
The aluminum industry has shown how to use this extra space to improve passenger safety by introducing an energy-absorbing aluminum crash management system.
The many benefits of using aluminum in cars
A lighter car with a lower carbon footprint
By making vehicles lighter using aluminum, they use less fuel and emit fewer emissions without compromising safety. Aluminum's light weighting properties enable cars produced in world this year to prevent 250 million tonnes of CO2 emissions during their lifetime.
More protection for safer cars
An aluminum crash box folds predictably and absorbs twice as much crash energy per kilogram as a steel solution. With only a third of the density of steel, aluminum crash-sensitive components can be made with a greater wall-thickness and still reduce weight. Furthermore, aluminum extrusions offer design flexibility that, together with aluminum sheet and casting components, makes aluminum the preferred solution for safety-critical components like battery boxes and bumpers.
Better range for electric vehicles
Aluminum helps electric and hybrid cars stay light, which is one of the most effective ways to improve a vehicle’s energy efficiency. The lighter the vehicle is, the longer it can drive on one charge, saving time and money.
Improved recycability
In today’s modern plants, 95% of aluminum in an end-of-life vehicle is successfully and profitably re-used or recycled into new aluminum products, substituting primary aluminum. Recycling aluminum is great for the environment and uses only 5% of the energy required to produce primary aluminum.
Building & Construction
Aluminum's design flexibility and contribution to energy efficiency make it the material of choice for many applications in building and construction.
Our metal has been enabling the energy efficiency, recyclability, comfort, safety, and durability of houses, offices, bridges, and other building & construction applications for over a century.
Aluminum is an architect’s dream: it can be cast and extruded in virtually any shape, offering endless design possibilities. Furthermore, aluminum can be anodized or painted in any Colour and on any number of surfaces. These processes further improve our products’ durability and corrosion resistance and simplify maintenance.
In cold seasons, a building’s heat losses must be reduced, while solar gains must be maximized. Maximizing the transparent window areas through slender aluminum frames can also help optimize solar gains. The use of aluminum shutters in cold periods will further limit heat losses at night.
On the other hand, solar gains must be minimized in hot seasons to optimize the occupants’ comfort and reduce air conditioning needs. Aluminum shading devices like solar blades or shutters can offer the perfect solution.
Last but not least, aluminum cladding protects buildings and helps insulate them. Aluminum ventilated cladding systems cover the outer side of insulation materials against the rain, which would otherwise cause their heat-saving properties to deteriorate. The air gap serves as an additional retainer of warmth during cold days. During warm days, the aluminum cladding partially reflects solar radiation, shades the internal building skin layers, and ensures natural ventilation in the cavity, reducing the need for air conditioning.
For this reason, it belongs to the best world reaction to fire class: A1.
Architects can choose from a wide range of aluminum claddings to optimize a building’s fire safety. Aluminum outer cladding can come in the form of aluminum sheet (bare, coated, or anodized) or aluminum composite material (ACM). Bare and anodized aluminum sheets and a wide range of coated aluminum sheets are non-combustible. ACMs are available with various core materials, including fire retardant and non-combustible options.
When used in the exterior ventilated facade, the outer cladding is the visible part of the system that protects the wall insulation from the rain, separated by an air gap. The outer cladding material, wall insulation material, and fire barriers all influence a facade’s flammability.
Driving the World's Renovation Wave with our energy-efficient building solutions
Currently, only 1% of buildings in the world undergo energy-efficient renovation annually. The World’s Renovation Wave, a flagship initiative of the world Green Deal, aims to double annual energy renovation rates in the next 10 years.
As a result of the World’s Renovation Wave, the demand for our sustainable building solutions is expected to grow significantly.
The renovation of old buildings using energy-efficient aluminum solutions that minimize heat loss and maximize heat gains offers a huge opportunity to improve the environmental performance of buildings in world.
Packaging & Consumer Goods
Aluminum is everywhere, so much so that we often don’t notice it. It is part of the bike you cycle to work, your kitchen utensils, and your TV. You may even be reading this on a phone with an aluminum body! The two most recognizable applications we come across every day are perhaps aluminum foil and beverage cans. Aluminum is a popular packaging material for food, drinks and medicine because it provides a total barrier function, keeping products safe from bacterial contamination, oxidation, moisture, and light, to protect the product’s integrity and extend its shelf life. It is also very light, making it easy to stack and less costly to transport. Last but not least, the endless recyclability of our metal allows us to offer highly circular packaging solutions in a fast-moving consumer good area. We have bold commitments when it comes to recycling aluminum packaging and believe that we can increase circularity in the packaging sector through cooperation with local authorities, product developers, consumers, and waste management operators.
Moreover, aluminum cans are fully recyclable, with no loss in quality. Unlike other beverage packaging materials, used aluminum cans are rarely subject to degradation, mechanical stress, or chemical damage in the recycling processes. It takes only 60 days for a single aluminum can to be produced, filled, distributed, consumed, and recycled into a new can. This makes the aluminum beverage can the ideal packaging solution for achieving the World’s recycling targets for 2025 and 2030.
We also educate consumers about the importance of recycling their drink cans. One example is our unique Every Can Counts partnership between drinks can manufacturers. As part of this partnership, we coordinate a behavior change campaign that inspires consumers, brands, and event organizers to collect and recycle drink cans wherever they are consumed.
Aluminum aerosols work perfectly for recycling and the circular economy. Made from high-purity aluminum, used aerosols are particularly sought-after for recycling.
Typically, aluminum is rolled to a thickness of fewer than 0.2 millimeters. The thinnest aluminum foil is only 0.006 millimeters (6 microns) thick, less than a human hair, while still performing as an absolute barrier.
The aluminum closure brings benefits to both producers and consumers; it preserves aromas, flavors, and freshness while providing bottle-to-bottle consistency. They are easy to open and reclose with no impact on flavor. The closures come in a wide range of sizes with innovative design and infinite decoration options.