Alcoa leads the energy transition in Brazil with an investment of 1.3 billion reais

In the last two years, Alcoa has allocated a significant amount of money to implement projects to replace fossil fuels in some plants. The Maranhão Aluminum Consortium (Alumar) – formed by Alcoa Corporation, Rio Tinto and South 32 – and the Poços de Caldas (MG) plant were beneficiaries. The company’s vision is to achieve net zero by 2050 with sustainable projects that also reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

At Alumar, the production of aluminum with 100% clean and renewable energy and low carbon emission is already a reality since the reconnection of the smelter in April 2022, from the investment of R$ 1 billion. The company installed an alternative type of fuel in its furnaces to cook the anode that has enabled it to save up to 30% of carbon emissions. This has resulted in the supply of aluminum with a much lower environmental footprint for buyers.

The SGA (Smelter Grade Alumina) alumina consortium is one of the suppliers with the EcoSource Sustana seal, since it is obtained with a lower carbon footprint than similar products on the market. It is available for the domestic and international market. There was an initiative in the city of Poços de Caldas (MG), where fossil fuel boilers were converted to natural gas and some electric boilers were used, reducing carbon emissions by 5.6 times.
Otávio Carvalheira, Alcoa’s CEO in Brazil, highlighted that “the future of aluminum involves investing in renewable sources, as well as optimizing bauxite extraction and the entire production process. And it also involves innovation, with technological improvements that allow us to expand production, reduce carbon emissions and invest in processes that have less impact on the environment”.

In Alcoa’s mining industry there is a specific unit dedicated to the production of NMA alumina, which is mainly used in the construction sector, glass manufacturing and also for water treatment. The latter is EcoSource certified.

This plant also innovated the bauxite waste disposal process and promoted decarbonization with the inauguration of the first filtration plant in Brazil, in November 2022, from the investment of R$ 330 million.