Constantia Flexibles has published a Low Carbon Aluminum white paper, introducing a framework that defines low-carbon aluminum based on Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and independently verified mass balance certification. The company classifies low-carbon aluminum into two categories: ≤6.1 tCO₂e/t for primary aluminum produced with renewable electricity, and ≤4.5 tCO₂e/t for aluminum combining renewable electricity with recycled content. The initiative aims to improve carbon transparency in aluminum packaging and support customers' ESG and decarbonisation goals.

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Aluminium Dunkerque has reached a key milestone in its 3.0 MWp photovoltaic project after the construction works for its solar car park canopies were formally accepted by the company. The project comprises 12 photovoltaic canopies covering 13,641 m², with commissioning expected in the near term. Once operational, the system will generate nearly 3,200 MWh of renewable electricity annually for on-site self-consumption.

NLMK Group is a top-20 global and the No.1 Russian steelmaker. Its 2025 annual report tells a defensive one built on vertical integration and rock-bottom costs — holding volumes and liquidity under the combined squeeze of shrinking demand, record Chinese exports and a stronger rouble, while keeping decarbonization options open through a roadmap that reaches to 2050.

The EU Commission's latest ETS reform proposal (COM(2026) 616), presented as a competitiveness measure, adds further layers of funds, investment conditions, and reporting obligations on top of already complex ETS and CBAM rules without meaningful simplification. Free allocation for CBAM sectors is extended to 2038, while historic certificate surpluses accumulated by the steel industry remain entirely untouched — allowing European producers to meet current obligations with previously free-allocated certificates while importers must provide upfront CBAM capital. SMEs appear in funding programs but receive no exemptions or reserved quotas. The case of Saarstahl illustrates the asymmetry: the company benefits simultaneously from historic ETS surpluses, extended free allocation, decarbonisation subsidies, CBAM border protection, and steel tariffs, with over half of its EUR 4.6 billion hydrogen investment publicly funded. Meanwhile, Germany's 2026 industrial electricity price of around 16.7 cents/kWh has returned to 2014 levels, undermining the steel industry's persistent claims that energy costs are the sector's primary burden.

A written parliamentary question posed to the European Commission asked: "What monetisable compensation does the Commission envisage for downstream producers whose embedded costs originate upstream, and who do not qualify for the decarbonisation fund?" Commissioner Hoekstra's July 14 response offered no direct answer, pointing instead to the Temporary Decarbonisation Fund — designed primarily for large EU ETS installations — with a vague note that it "may also decrease associated downstream costs," with no obligation, guarantee, or figure attached. Critics note that large integrated steelmakers benefit from multiple layers of protection including tariffs, quotas, free ETS allowances, and decarbonisation funding, while import-dependent SMEs and downstream processors face rising procurement costs, CBAM obligations, quota cuts exceeding 45%, and heavy administrative burdens — with no cumulative impact assessment ever published by the Commission. Meanwhile, steel import quota data remains poorly updated, with the Commission confirming it will update TRQs only once daily with no real-time data, and declining to recognize the "Total awaiting allocation" figure as legally binding.

BHP said blast furnace decarbonisation remains crucial as over 70% of global steel output still uses the BF-BOF route. The company noted that EAF and DRI expansion faces scrap supply and iron ore quality constraints, while BF emissions can be reduced through recycling, hydrogen injection, CCUS and higher-grade raw materials. With new integrated steel plants costing around 4 billion USD and 85% of China and India’s BF capacity less than 20 years old, full replacement remains difficult in the near term.