Russian Federation aluminium giant UC Rusal assured the world this week that aluminium supplied to domestic buyers would be no more rich in carbon than the products offered to buyers beyond Russia’s borders.
In comments made at the fringes of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Rusal’s CEO Evgeny Nikitin relayed that the post-division entities expected to supply identical aluminium to buyers no matter where they resided.
“We did not imply such a division [in quality of aluminium], our clients will receive exactly the metal they order from us. Nobody says that Al+ will not supply products to the Russian market. The fact that the new company will focus on the domestic market, it happened with us historically, the enterprises of the new company today have more than 60% of contracts on the domestic market, these contracts will remain with these enterprises. Therefore, one cannot say that the metal on the Russian domestic market will have a high carbon footprint.”
Rusal is currently planning on a de-merger for the near future, in which its high-carbon assets would be bundled into one company and the remaining assets would exist under the name Al+. The firm’s board of directors has already signed off on the plan, and management will present the plan to shareholders en masse later this month.
The de-merger is intended to position Rusal (as Al+) to meet its sustainability goals in part by developing inert anode technology. Such technology is expected to ultimately lead to carbon-free aluminium, explains the firm.
As for the spin-off firm, Rusal says the company is likely to be publicly traded, with shares divided among Rusal shareholders and outside traders.