Russian Federation titan U.C. Rusal announced earlier this week a new agreement with Taiwanese aluminium alloy producer Hodaka to provide it with its low-carbon aluminium products.
Rusal will supply Hodaka with its ALLOW line of low-carbon aluminium, which is produced using power derived from renewable sources like hydropower, wind, and solar power. This low-carbon aluminium will be used by Hodaka to produce aluminium alloys for use in sporting goods, consumer electronics, automotive parts, and motorcycle manufacturing.
Using Rusal’s proprietary low-carbon aluminium will permit Hodaka and its customers to track the energy source and determine the carbon footprint of the aluminium feedstock used in its products. Rusal notes that this is a more and more common request from end users as awareness of climate issues continues to spread.
Lord Barker, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rusal’s parent company En+ Group, underlined the importance of its low-carbon aluminium offerings in a related press release.
“I am delighted that RUSAL is continuing to partner with innovative companies such as Hodaka. We are working to decarbonise the aluminium industry from the front and recently announced our commitment to reduce emissions by at least 35% by 2030, reaching net zero by 2050. This will involve the whole value chain, from initial bauxite mining through to alumina melting leading to minimal, ultimately zero, emissions in the final products reaching consumers.”
Rusal’s ALLOW brand of low-carbon aluminium has an average carbon footprint of 2.4 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per metric ton of aluminium produced, with both direct and indirect energy emissions from aluminium smelters are taken into account. This not only bests the current industry average of 12.5 metric tons, it also surpasses the global low-carbon aluminium standard of 4 metric tons.
Terms of the deal, including price, volume, and the agreement’s length of time were not revealed by either firm.