Reducing emissions from the automotive sector It no longer just comes from the exhaust. With the advancement of electric mobility, the center of gravity of the climate footprint is shifting towards production phase, which today weighs for approximately 60% of the total impact of an electric vehicle. And in this framework, thealuminum used for body, battery and components accounts for a fifth.
According to the new study by Transport & Environment (T&E), the answer is already available: green aluminum, recycled or produced with low-emission electric technologies. Its mass adoption would allow cut a certain amount of CO02 every year equivalent to removing 900 diesel or petrol cars from the roads by 2040. And with a practically irrelevant cost to the industry of around 25 euros per vehicle.
Why Europe can lead the clean aluminum revolution
Producing aluminum is an energy-intensive process: Producing one ton requires ten times the electricity consumed in a year by a European household. This is where Europe can play its gameWith a growing share of renewables in the electricity mix, the continent has ideal conditions to develop a green aluminum supply chain more competitive than many other regions of the world.
Today, over a third of Europe's aluminum ends up in the automotive industry. Promoting green aluminum, T&E argues, is not only an environmental choice but also an industrial strategy capable of consolidating a cleantech sector in which the EU still holds a lead.
Binding targets and low costs: the T&E plan
The study proposes a clear path. The 60% green aluminum by 2035, 85% in 2040 in new cars produced in Europe. Targets considered fully achievable, with immediate environmental benefits and decreasing costs thanks to economies of scale.
"Electric cars are a much more sustainable choice than gasoline or diesel ones. Using green aluminum can make them even more eco-friendly," he commented. Esther Marchetti, Clean Transport Advocacy Manager of T&E Italia.
And Italy, with one of the highest recycling rates on the continent, would have a natural role in the supply chain. "Europe," Marchetti explains, "thanks to the significant contribution of renewable energy to its electricity grid, is in an excellent position to become a world leader in this technology. Italy is also well positioned, we have aluminum recycling rates among the highest in Europe and the local supply chain could play an important role in the transition. But this potential cannot be fully exploited without the involvement of one of the main consumers of aluminium: theautomotive industryClear objectives and local content requirements can make a difference.”
An industry to be relaunched, not lost
Despite the opportunities, the current picture remains fragile. More than half of the primary aluminum consumed by the EU is imported, while the number of active foundries has halved in ten yearsTo reverse the trend, T&E proposes a multi-pronged strategy:
- incentives and obligations for the use of green aluminium produced in the Union,
- specific targets for recycling and local sourcing,
- restrictions on the export of scrap metal, which is now too often valued elsewhere.
If adopted, these measures would allow Europe not only to reduce emissions from the automotive sector but also to bring a strategic supply chain for the energy transition back home.
