Aluminum
CRU: Aluminum news roundup
Written by Marziyeh Horeh
November 15, 2024
China ditches export tax rebates for aluminum semi-finished goods
China’s finance ministry said that it would reduce or cancel export tax rebates for a wide range of commodities and other products, effective Dec. 1. It announced it will cancel the rebate for various aluminum and copper products. The tariff code list also included various aluminum semis.
In addition, China will reduce the export tax rebate rates for some refined oil products, photovoltaics, batteries and certain non-metallic mineral products from 13% to 9%. This will aid government finances and encourage moves further downstream.
Constellium claims breakthrough in aluminum recycling
Paris-headquartered Constellium says together with partners they have made a major advance in sorting aluminum by implementing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology at an industrial scale. The focus is on the automotive industry.
“Recycling aluminum scrap with the precision and scale offered by LIBS technology is an unprecedented leap forward for the industry,” said Dieter Hoell, vice-president global automotive at Constellium. “This innovative approach allows us to recover high-quality alloys from pre-consumer scrap, significantly reducing our carbon footprint and supporting our customers’ sustainability goals.”
One of the most significant challenges in automotive aluminum recycling is proper segregation – traditionally, mixed 5xxx and 6xxx alloys from stamping scrap were downcycled, limiting their use in high-value applications.
The latest technology allows for fast and precise sorting of aluminum scrap, achieving purity levels of over 95% for both alloy families. Constellium reports that it has already processed large quantities of LIBS-sorted scrap at its Neuf-Brisach plant in Alsace, eastern France, recycling it into top-quality aluminum products while maintaining material integrity.
The process was developed in collaboration with German recycler OSR and an unnamed European automotive manufacturer. Constellium and OSR plan to enhance the technology with the longer term goal of extracting high-value aluminum from end-of-life vehicles.
Norwegian aluminum producer Hydro already uses LIBS-based technology at its recycling plant in Dormagen (Germany) and in partnership with US recycler Padnos at Grandville, Michigan.
Editor’s note: This article was first published by CRU. To learn more about CRU’s services, click here.
Marziyeh Horeh
Read more from Marziyeh HorehLatest in Aluminum
Wittbecker on Aluminum: US-China trade war clobbers cross-Pacific trade
Container shipping lines have sharply increased blank sailings on Transpacific routes in response to escalating trade tensions between the US and China.
Wittbecker on Aluminum: Can port fees bring US shipbuilding back?
Representatives from bulk commodity shippers and consumer goods argued against the fees, saying it could cripple supply chains because of the very dominance that China has in the existing shipping fleet.
Tariff talks define Alcoa’s Q1
Operational results painted a picture of a company that produced more aluminum but shipped less of it as a result of tariffs and timing mismatches.
Wittbecker: What comes after ‘Liberation Day’?
A week after "Liberation Day," the global economy got a 90-day “stay of execution.” The Trump administration hit the pause button on many of its broad tariff measures, with the exception of China.
The Value Trap: USMCA compliance paradoxes
A counterintuitive aspect of the 25% tariffs on autos is these percentages are measured in value, not by weight or part count. That means a few costly imported parts can outweigh dozens of cheaper local ones – and vice versa.