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.

Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL) has awarded Suzlon Group a new 400MW wind EPC contract in Andhra Pradesh, lifting the two companies' cumulative wind energy collaboration beyond 1GW. Suzlon will supply, install, commission and maintain 127 units of its 3.15MW S144 wind turbines. The project supports India's renewable energy expansion and decarbonisation goals while further strengthening Suzlon's growing wind energy project pipeline.

On June 24, 2026, Hydrexia and the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, signed an industry-academia research collaboration agreement. The two parties will jointly conduct R&D on the coupling of magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage and transport systems with solid oxide fuel cell systems , further exploring the technical possibilities for the synergistic operation of SOFC, SOEC, and magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage and transport products (MHX), and advancing the formation of a zero-carbon energy loop encompassing "green electricity hydrogen production, solid-state hydrogen storage, and high-temperature power generation." Hydrexia has long been committed to the industrialisation of magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage and has continuously pursued cutting-edge research on solid oxide fuel cells. Its self-developed magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage and transport system features operation at ambient temperature and pressure, high hydrogen storage density, and intrinsic safety, and has already achieved batch applications in areas such as cross-border hydrogen transport, energy storage peak shaving, and emergency power supply, forming an integrated product delivery capability from materials to systems. The key to this collaboration lies in the strong thermal energy synergy potential between SOFC/SOEC systems and magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage products. The high-temperature excess heat generated during SOFC operation can be used to drive the release of hydrogen from magnesium-based materials, while the heat released when magnesium-based materials absorb hydrogen can also provide a heat source for SOEC hydrogen production via electrolysis. Through thermal cycle complementarity, system energy consumption is expected to decline significantly, enabling the integrated operation of "hydrogen storage + power generation" , with overall energy efficiency potentially exceeding 90%. Leveraging ERI@N's research expertise in energy materials and electrochemical systems, alongside Hydrexia's experience in the engineering and industrialisation of hydrogen energy products, the two parties will jointly advance the development of integrated high-performance products coupling MHX with SOFC/SOEC. In the future, these technologies could be applied in scenarios such as stationary power supply for AI computing centers, long-duration hydrogen ESS power stations, zero-carbon industrial parks, and off-grid microgrids, providing support for long-cycle, stable clean power supply and facilitating the integration of renewable energy and the reduction of fossil fuel emissions. Professor Zeng Shaohua, Co-Director of ERI@N at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, stated that the collaboration with Hydrexia reflects ERI@N's direction of translating frontier research outcomes into tangible environmental benefits. By combining ERI@N's research facilities and interdisciplinary research capabilities with Hydrexia's experience in hydrogen energy technology, both parties will jointly study the synergistic mechanisms between waste heat recovery and hydrogen storage, thereby advancing next-generation energy technologies and supporting global decarbonisation. Fang Peijun, Chairman of Hydrexia, stated that the company has continuously advanced basic R&D on SOFC and the commercialisation of magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage and transport products over the years. This collaboration with an international university will help break through coupling technology bottlenecks. Hydrexia will leverage ERI@N's scientific research capabilities to accelerate core system iteration and promote the transformation of laboratory results into replicable and implementable standardised products, thereby expanding the large-scale application of hydrogen energy in more scenarios. This collaboration represents not only a technical partnership between academia and industry but also a complementarity between scientific research capability and engineering capability. Looking ahead, Hydrexia will use this collaboration as a starting point to continue deepening R&D on coupling technologies for solid-state hydrogen storage and high-temperature fuel cells, refining integrated solutions across the entire hydrogen energy industry chain, and providing technical support for the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry and the global green, low-carbon transition.

US-based combustion technology provider Bloom Engineering has highlighted the growing role of advanced combustion systems in improving efficiency and reducing emissions across the aluminium industry. Its technologies are used in aluminium melting, holding, homogenising, reheating and heat-treatment processes, where precise temperature control is critical to production efficiency and product quality. Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Bloom Engineering provides industrial burners, combustion systems, controls engineering and technical services through operations in the US, Germany, India and China. The company’s solutions support the use of natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels and other fuels while helping customers reduce CO₂ and NOx emissions, improve temperature uniformity, increase production capacity and lower fuel consumption. As aluminium producers accelerate decarbonisation efforts, advanced combustion technologies are expected to play a key role in supporting low-carbon and energy-efficient manufacturing.

In recent years, Indonesia's energy transition has shown clear signs of acceleration. As the government sets more ambitious renewable energy targets, and as mining decarbonisation, island-based power system upgrades, floating PV project development and local manufacturing build-out continue to advance, the long-term growth potential of Indonesia's solar PV, energy storage and microgrid markets is opening up further.