In the ongoing legislative process on the Critical Raw Materials Act, the European Parliament has decided to add aluminum to the list of strategic raw materials. The European Council had previously also included aluminum in its position.
“It is right and important that Parliament also recognizes the importance that aluminum has for the Green Deal. There are large amounts of aluminum in many technologies and goods that are essential for the transformation. In the subsequent trilogue negotiations and the final law, it is imperative that decision-makers continue to recognize this central role of our material,” explains Rob van Gils, President of Aluminum Germany.
Further crisis mood in the German aluminum industry
The supply and price situation on the energy markets remains poor for around half of the companies. This emerges from a member survey conducted by Aluminum Germany. One in seven companies stated that the situation had actually gotten worse. For the coming months, 40 percent expect the situation to become increasingly tense. In addition, three quarters of those surveyed rate the competitiveness of Germany as an industrial location as low or very low. No company rates them as high or very high. In addition to capacity cuts (37 percent), 31 percent of companies are forced to introduce short-time work. Another 18 percent are cutting jobs and 8 percent are moving parts of their production abroad.
“While aluminum is essential for the transformation, the German aluminum industry is in a real crisis. We are seeing significant declines in the order books. This contradicts the political goal of making Europe greener and more resilient. Three quarters of the world's primary aluminum is produced in China, Russia and the Middle East - with all the consequences for the security of supply in Germany and Europe. That's why I appeal to reason in Berlin. The people involved there urgently need to find a way to defuse the situation until green energy is available across the board and cheaply,” continues Van Gils.
