Alcoa makes first EcoSource® non-metallurgical alumina (NMA) sales

Following the launch of EcoSource NMA in 2022, Alcoa has made its first sales of EcoSource non-metallurgical alumina (NMA) with six customers between 2023 and 2024. This development shows the NMA’s market interest in lower-carbon solutions.

EcoSource NMA is a part of Alcoa’s sustainable product family, Sustana^®. First launched in 2020 for smelter-grade alumina applications (SGA), EcoSource is the world’s first and only low-carbon alumina brand offered as both SGA and NMA. For non-metallurgical alumina, this includes hydrates and calcined products. NMA is used in water treatment applications, flame retardants, ceramic tiles, glass, refractory and other manufacturing applications.

EcoSource, in both SGA and NMA, is sourced from Alcoa’s global refining system, which has an average carbon dioxide equivalent intensity (CO₂e) that is below 0.6 tons per ton of alumina produced, which includes Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from bauxite mining and alumina refining.

“As the world’s largest third-party producer of alumina outside of China, we are excited to share that we have now also sold low carbon NMA under our EcoSource brand as an important evolution in our product portfolio,” said Alcoa’s Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President, Renato Bacchi. “By offering EcoSource NMA to the market, we are sharing solutions with our customers to help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and meet their own sustainability goals.”

One of the EcoSource NMA customers is Química del Cinca, a European electrochemical manufacturer specializing in water treatment products.

“Using EcoSource low carbon certified hydrate from Alcoa underscores our unwavering commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility”, stated Mercè Vilamasana, Chief Operating Officer at Química del Cinca. “By incorporating EcoSource NMA into our brand-new plant in Monzón, we are not only advancing our technological capabilities and increasing plant capacity but also contributing to a more sustainable future for the water treatment sector”.

EcoSource^® is part of Alcoa’s Sustana^® family, which is the most comprehensive in the industry because it is the only brand that includes alumina, primary aluminium and aluminium with recycled content.