Alcoa to supply low carbon aluminium for Audi’s electric car

Alcoa Corporation will deliver sustainable, low-carbon aluminium for the wheels on the e-tron GT, Audi’s first electric sports car. The company will supply metal to RONAL GROUP for the manufacture of the Audi e-tron GT’s high-performance alloy wheels, produced with a combination of metal from the ELYSISTM zero-carbon emissions smelting technology and EcoLum™, Alcoa’s low-carbon aluminum brand.

“Alcoa’s DNA is built on discovering the process that made aluminum a part of our everyday lives, and we’re proud to help the industry take another step forward to lower the carbon footprint of global supply chains,” said Tim Reyes, Alcoa’s Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President. “Our partnership with the RONAL GROUP in supplying Audi with sustainable solutions helps make an innovative vehicle even more exciting for consumers.”

The wheels also include Alcoa’s low-carbon EcoLum metal. This metal is manufactured with less than 4.0 metric tons of CO2e for every ton of metal produced. Alcoa created the zero-carbon emissions technology that ELYSIS is working to ramp up to a commercial scale. The technology emits pure oxygen as a byproduct and eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions from traditional aluminium smelting.

“For the RONAL GROUP, sustainability means ensuring the long-term success of the company while protecting our natural livelihood for the people of today and future generations,” said RONAL GROUP’s Executive Vice President Group Sales Patrick Lämmli.

Marco Philippi, Audi AG’s Head of Procurement Strategy, said: “Aluminum is the focus of our CO2 program because producing this material requires a high energy input. We are therefore actively searching for innovative processes that help reduce CO2 emissions as early as possible in the creation process. The process created by ELYSIS is promising because it already takes effect in the raw material processing phase. These kinds of innovations allow us to increase our sustainability performance in the supply chain and ensure that our models arrive at the customers with a smaller carbon footprint.”