Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in the Nonferrous Metals Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The "Proposal" preliminarily proposes that by 2025, the structure of the non-ferrous metal industry and the structure of energy consumption will be significantly optimized, and the proportion of recycled metal supply will reach the expected goal of more than 24%.

Many experts said in an interview with People's Daily Online that the introduction of the "Plan" means that, as one of the raw material industries striving to achieve carbon peaking first, the non-ferrous metal industry will accelerate the control of carbon from the total amount, production process and source. Emissions will contribute to the overall realization of my country's carbon peak. At the same time, the "Proposal" will bring new opportunities for the development of my country's green recycled aluminum industry.

Strengthen the reduction and replacement of electrolytic aluminum to control the "ceiling" of production capacity from the total amount

Non-ferrous metal carbon emissions are concentrated in aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, magnesium, industrial silicon, etc. The production of aluminum has always been high in emissions and high in energy consumption. Relevant data show that, as a major aluminum production and consumption country, the carbon emissions of my country's aluminum industry chain account for more than 75% of the entire ferrous metal industry and 6% of domestic carbon dioxide emissions.

The "Plan" requires that we continue to adhere to the constraints on the total amount of electrolytic aluminum production capacity, study differentiated electrolytic aluminum production capacity reduction and replacement policies, compact local government responsibilities, and include strict control of electrolytic aluminum new production capacity as an important content of the central ecological and environmental protection inspection.

Ge Honglin, president of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said in an interview that the output of electrolytic aluminum is a key factor in determining the carbon emissions of the nonferrous metal industry. The production capacity of electrolytic aluminum must be strictly controlled, and new production capacity in any form is strictly prohibited. Copper and other varieties must also be strictly controlled. The total amount of smelting capacity, and explore the establishment of non-ferrous metal consumption peak warning mechanism.

At present, the domestic electrolytic aluminum production capacity is 44.5 million tons per year, almost touching the "ceiling" of domestic electrolytic aluminum production capacity of 45 million tons per year. Industry experts said that the introduction of the "Plan" means that the "ceiling" requirements for domestic electrolytic aluminum production capacity will be further strengthened. On the one hand, the equivalent replacement of electrolytic aluminum production capacity in the early stage is expected to gradually shift to reduction replacement, and there is a tendency to further reduce the total amount; on the other hand, the control of electrolytic aluminum production capacity will be included in the supervision of ecological and environmental protection, which will help to further control the electrolytic aluminum production capacity. production capacity.

Actively deploy clean energy alternative systems to accelerate the exit of inefficient production capacity

The "Second Biennial Update Report on Climate Change of the People's Republic of China" shows that energy activities are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in my country, accounting for about 86.8% of my country's total carbon dioxide emissions. Among them, fossil energy is the main part of energy activities.

Fossil energy is precisely the main source of fuel and electricity for my country's nonferrous metal industry. Relevant data show that taking electrolytic aluminum, which consumes the most electricity, as an example, more than 60% of its production capacity uses coal-fired self-supplied electricity, and the carbon emission intensity of the product is much higher than that of similar products using clean energy abroad. Aluminum accounts for 85% of carbon emissions, accounting for more than 50% of the total emissions of the ferrous metal industry.

Can we use less or no fossil energy to solve the problem of carbon emissions? People are turning to clean energy. Experts said that solar energy, wind energy, water energy, geothermal energy and other renewable energy sources do not emit carbon dioxide during the utilization process and are more friendly to the environment. In recent years, my country has actively deployed the renewable energy industry.

In the non-ferrous metal industry, the idea of ​​energy type conversion is also applicable. The "Plan" proposes to promote the replacement of coal with gas and electricity in the non-ferrous metal industry, control the consumption of fossil energy, encourage enterprises such as electrolytic aluminum to transfer to renewable energy-rich areas in an orderly manner, and promote coal-fired self-provided power to grid power Transformation, from the source to reduce carbon emissions per unit of product.

The "Plan" proposes that by 2025, the proportion of direct alloying of aluminum water will be increased to more than 90%, and green electricity price policies such as ladder electricity prices will be improved to guide energy conservation and emission reduction in major industries such as electrolytic aluminum, and accelerate the exit of inefficient production capacity. At the same time, the construction of coal-fired self-owned power plants is strictly prohibited, and the transformation of the electrolytic aluminum industry from using self-provided power to grid power is promoted, and the proportion of renewable energy used in electrolytic aluminum will reach 25% and 30% respectively in 2025 and 2030.

Experts in the industry said that the "Proposal" requires comprehensive promotion of energy conservation and emission reduction in the electrolytic aluminum industry chain from two aspects of production process and energy source, which is expected to further suppress the supply of thermal power aluminum and promote the production of aluminum with green energy, which is good for the current regional layout of hydropower And electrolytic aluminum enterprises that actively increase the proportion of green electricity.

Develop the secondary aluminum industry to stimulate the future potential of "urban mines"

In order to build a green manufacturing system, in addition to vigorously reducing carbon in the production process, what other areas need to continue to make efforts? The "Plan" proposes to improve the recycling and comprehensive utilization system, establish a resource comprehensive utilization base, arrange regional recycling pretreatment and distribution centers, and improve the level of utilization.

Jia Mingxing, vice president of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, believes that a sound recycling system will guide nonferrous metal production companies to choose green raw materials, technologies, equipment, and logistics, and recycle "urban mines" such as waste household appliances and electronic waste rich in nonferrous metals. , establish a green and low-carbon supply chain management system, and promote the green transformation and upgrading of the industrial chain.

The "Plan" proposes that by 2025, the output of secondary aluminum will reach 11.5 million tons, and research will be carried out to include key non-ferrous metal varieties in the national carbon emission trading market. Experts in the industry believe that secondary aluminum has obvious advantages in reducing emissions, and the unit carbon emission is only 2% of that of primary aluminum. The application of secondary aluminum to primary aluminum will effectively reduce carbon emissions from the source.

Experts said that the supply side of China's electrolytic aluminum will usher in a change, the development of domestic green recycled aluminum will accelerate, and the incremental production capacity of electrolytic aluminum is expected to be transferred "to the sea" in the future.