The European light metals conference brought together traders, producers and consumers involved with light metals such as aluminium, magnesium, silicon metals and manganese to address the impact of these market developments, and the broader influence of the aluminium alloy industry. The conference took place on 3-4 November in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Martin Tauber, President of the CRM Alliance, focused on the following topics:
“Essential” alloying elements for Al alloys
Critical Raw Material Assessment in the EU
Advocacy of critical materials by the CRM Alliance
Tauber’s main message to the aluminium industry was that alloying elements are essential for reaching competitive properties, such as strength, corrosion resistance and processing parameters. However, CRM policy is supposed to secure supply and substitution efforts can significantly weaken the aluminium industry. Primary alloying elements such as magnesium and silicon metal will most probably remain on the EU CRM list, and most of the common alloying elements are listed. Tauber argued that alloying elements require equal consideration when it comes to sustainable sourcing and resource efficiency as well as dependency in pre & post consumer recycling.