Carbon Saving Strategies

Even at a thickness of only a few thousandths of an inch, aluminum foil completely blocks humidity and light, and has remarkably good insulation properties. It reflects up to 98% of light and heat, it’s cheap, malleable and 100% recyclable, making it the ideal wrap for anything from the most precious medicine to yesterday’s lasagna.

Climate Action Plan

Clean Energy – Maximum Efficiency – Reduced Emissions

We have set long-term goals to reduce the environmental footprint of our products. These goals reflect Century´s role as a responsible producer as well as our commitment to offering customers products they can use with pride and to gain an edge in the highly competitive markets for consumer goods, vehicles, packaging, and construction materials.

2030 – Reducing carbon emissions from our aluminum production by 30%

We spend significant resources and effort toward operating our smelters with consistency and stability, mindful of the direct correlation between emission levels and stability of operations. The main focus is on lowering Carbon consumption and PFC intensity, increasing the amount of scrap in the production, as well as renewable energy sources in our value chain.

2050 – Carbon neutral aluminum production

We take part in development and innovation projects that aim to make our primary aluminum production completely carbon-neutral. We believe this will be achievable either through the development of a new type of anode where carbon does not bond with oxygen or by capturing CO₂ in emissions.

The Task of Aluminum

Aluminum is a metal element, abundant on all continents, and one of the most common substances in the universe. While aluminum makes up around 8% of the mass of Earth’s crust, it is virtually never found in its pure state. Rather, it forms a great number of compounds that usually involve oxygen. One such compound, alumina (also known as aluminum oxide), is our source of pure aluminum.

Alumina is a simple compound of aluminum and oxygen – Al₂O₃ – and the core of our production process breaks the bond between the two elements with electrolysis. In that process, the oxygen binds to carbon, leaving pure aluminum as a product.

Separating aluminum and oxygen is energy-intensive and requires the introduction of carbon as a new “home” for the oxygen, mostly in the familiar form of CO₂. At present, there is no other practical or commercially viable process available to produce pure aluminum at scale and no such alternative may be developed in the foreseeable future. This leaves us with several priority tasks:

To look for energy sources with the lowest carbon footprint.
To maximize the efficiency of the electrolytic process and work on the development of carbon-free anodes.
To eliminate carbon waste as far as possible, with refinements to the manufacturing of carbon anodes, recycling of spent material, and other energy and carbon-saving measures.
To support the development of carbon-capture technologies and processes that reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

Energy Sources

Renewable Energy

Along with alumina, electricity can be viewed as our other primary resource and potentially the largest single contributor to our carbon footprint. During the smelting process, alumina – a chemical compound of aluminum and oxygen – is dissolved into a solution and a strong electric current is applied to free the aluminum from its strong bond to the oxygen molecules. Even with the most modern processes, it takes 13–16 MWh of electricity to produce a tonne of pure aluminum, about 1.5 times the amount of energy an average household uses over a whole year. Our total consumption of electricity in 2022 was close to 12 TWh, equivalent to about 1.1 million U.S. households.

Using energy with a relatively large carbon footprint, such as from coal-fired power plants, will inevitably lead to a much larger overall carbon footprint than using energy with very low or near-zero emissions, such as hydropower, geothermal energy, solar power or wind. In Iceland, our Norðurál plant uses 100% renewable energy from hydro and geothermal power plants. This fact by itself puts our Norðurál product in pole position for the race towards the world’s greenest aluminum. With several other refinements and strategies, we may, in fact, already be there.

In the U.S., an increasing proportion of our electricity is generated from renewable sources, such as wind and solar. We continue to actively pursue opportunities to add renewable power sources directly into the supply chain for our plants located in Kentucky and South Carolina. In partnership with one of the Department of Energy’s laboratories, we are in the initial stages of a project focused on testing new technology in our U.S. operations that would allow more flexible potline operations and facilitate greater integration of intermittent renewables into the power grid, from which we take energy. We are also evaluating the potential of a few proposed solar projects at all our U.S. locations, from on-site generation to off-site joint ventures for the purpose of further reducing our emissions.

Fossil Fuels

In addition to electricity, fuel consumption is a component of our overall energy consumption, and includes our use of diesel, natural gas, gasoline, and propane.

We remain committed to the continued exploration of new ways to increase our use of reliable renewable energy while decreasing our reliance on more carbon-intensive energy sources. The aluminum smelting process is continuous, and any interruption to the power supply can lead to costly damage to reduction cells and other smelting equipment. This makes the reliability and competitively priced nature of our power supply crucial to our operations. While the U.S. power utilities are in the process of retiring high-carbon power plants and replacing them with natural gas and renewable energy, the expected pace of change of the overall generation mix may limit our ability to produce “green” metal at a pace that suits us. We are therefore actively investigating the economic viability of direct purchases or virtual power purchase agreements with renewable projects for our U.S. plants.

Increasing Efficiency

Efficient Operations

Efficient operations are not only good for the bottom line, but beneficial to our carbon books as well. Stoppages due to faulty equipment, accidents and mistakes can significantly increase our carbon emissions and waste. This makes the entire manufacturing process – a reliable supply-chain, well-maintained equipment, a well-trained and conscientious workforce, meticulous monitoring and controls, etc. – collectively responsible for our common goal: Pure, environmentally responsible aluminum at a competitive price.

As we grow and expand our operations, our commitment is to manage our emissions responsibly and reduce CO₂ emissions per tonne of primary aluminum. Even incremental reductions of our carbon footprint per tonne of finished product require steady improvements of technology and processes, investments in operational stability, training of skills and environmental awareness, and constant oversight over the entire value chain.

Efficient Use of Water

Water is the most important component of any ecosystem. All living organisms need water to grow and survive, and all freshwater ultimately depends on the continued healthy functioning of ecosystems. Water is also the primary medium through which we will feel the effects of climate change.

Water availability is, and has always been, uneven, with some places enjoying an overabundance of water and others enduring almost perpetual scarcity. Iceland is an example of a country with an almost limitless availability of fresh water that can be used responsibly without affecting groundwater levels. In all cases, we take every measure to limit our water usage, limit waste, and recycle as much as we can of the water we have access to.

Waste, Recycling and Reprocessing

The Various Forms of Residue

Even the most efficient processes leave a residue. Ours is primarily in the form of spent carbon anodes and aluminum scrap, along with various waste materials common to most large-scale industries. Managing, reducing, and redirecting the waste we produce in our operations and during the smelting process is an important part of our environmental stewardship efforts and sustainability strategy. Our procedures ensure the responsible and efficient management of any hazardous and non-hazardous waste, and the sustainable recycling and disposal of aluminum and other by-products produced during the aluminum production process. An ambitious recycling program can significantly reduce our carbon footprint and sometimes result in financial savings as well.

We have steadily increased the amount of scrap we recycle back into our products. At Sebree, a custom alloy with recycled content was successfully developed in partnership with a customer. Going forward, we are committed to exploring additional opportunities to reprocess and reuse scrap aluminum in our operations, and to develop new products with significant proportions of recycled content.

Spent Pot Lining

Spent pot lining (SPL) is a waste material generated from our aluminum production processes. In essence, pots used in our operations will have cell linings that absorb various materials and substances, including fluorides and aluminum. Pots eventually fail and will need to be rebuilt with new cell lining as part of the ordinary course of operating an aluminum smelter. The old cell lining, removed from the pots, is known as Spent Pot Lining (SPL). SPL is considered a hazardous waste material under the guidelines set forth by the U.S. EPA.

We dispose of SPL in compliance with applicable laws and requirements at each of our operations, as well as with our own internal practices on appropriate care and handling of such waste material.

Carbon Capture

The idea of capturing CO₂ emissions at the source and preventing their release into the atmosphere presents exciting possibilities. We follow developments in this area closely and support several carbon capture projects that are currently at various stages of research and development.

Norðurál and Norwegian company Ocean Geoloop are working together on developing a solution to capture CO₂ emitted in the production process. In 2022 a trial unit was set up at a paper mill in Norway and we aim to set up a trial unit at our Norðurál plant in Iceland.

Other co-operation partners and projects in various stages of development include Carbfix, Qair, Arctus Metals and Reykjavik University in Iceland.

Emissions

The Three Types of Emissions

Century is committed to minimizing environmental impacts from its operations and to complying with or exceeding the requirements of all applicable environmental laws and regulations. We monitor our emissions throughout the aluminum production process at each of our facilities. Relevant GHG, particulate, and volatile emissions are measured, captured, and maintained within regulated levels and operating licenses. Century performs regular inspections of the equipment used to measure and manage these emissions to ensure their proper function. All our operations have effective environmental management systems in place; in particular, Norðurál is certified to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management standard, and we have started our journey toward ISO 14001 certification for our U.S. facilities. We spend significant resources and effort toward operating our smelters within a tight band of consistency and stability, mindful of the direct correlation between the stability of operations and the emissions produced in the primary aluminum process.

We measure and report Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) emissions at each of our sites. For our U.S. operations, we calculate Scope 1 emissions according to methodologies found in the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. At our Icelandic and Dutch operations, we operate pursuant to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and our Scope 1 emissions data and calculations are independently audited at each location. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions attributable to the production of electricity used in the manufacturing process, and Scope 3 emissions (not included in this report) are all other indirect emissions, such as those from the production of purchased materials, transportation of raw materials and finished product, and emissions attributable to the end-user of our product.

In addition, our aluminum production at Norðurál in Iceland is certified by the ASI Performance Standard requiring life-cycle analysis of finished products, including traceability from mine to metal and third-party verification of CO₂ emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3). The journey to extend the ASI standard to all our U.S. operations has begun.

The data contained in the charts below represent the CO₂ emissions generated from our aluminum production processes. While our total CO₂ emissions have increased since 2019 as we increase and expand our operations, the all-important measure of CO₂/tAl shows significant improvements.

Air Quality

As part of our manufacturing processes, the release of various particles other than CO₂ into our atmosphere is all but inevitable. We work hard to remain well within all applicable environmental standards, permits, and licenses, and in 2022 there was no material breach by our operations against environmental permits or licenses at any of our locations.

In this report, we provide data on carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and fluoride. We also emit particulate matter, mercury (Hg), and volatile organic compounds (VOC), all of which are monitored.

Raw Materials and Resource Consumption

We keep detailed accounts of everything that enters into our manufacturing processes and everything that leaves – as finished product, recyclable material, emissions, or waste. These “Green Accounts” help us not only monitor our overall performance and identify ways to decrease our environmental footprint, but also to improve environmental awareness throughout our company. We take pride in year-on-year improvements and make corrections as needed. The result is good business, a better product, and an even better company.