Context. As environmental awareness and responsibility continue to grow in the global aluminum market, producers and consumers worldwide and across the entire value chain have increased their involvement in multiple initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production process, and to increase the consumption of aluminum produced under the most clean and sustainable requirements.
Request. In response to the rapid rise of sustainability awareness and given requests from some of our clients, HARBOR announces today the launch of the world’s first green aluminum premium, the US MW P1020 Green Aluminum Spot Premium.
Market background. According to HARBOR’s estimates, the worldwide primary aluminum industry operated in 2018 with an average carbon footprint of 11.5 kg of CO2 emitted per kg of primary aluminum produced (direct and indirect emissions; Scope 1 and 2). Low carbon/green aluminum is considered by HARBOR to be produced with a 4.5 or less kg of CO2 emitted per kg of primary aluminum produced.
According to HARBOR’s projections, ROW’s production of low-carbon/green P1020 aluminum in the form of ingot/t-bar/sow will be around 4.7 million mton in 2020, which will represent 43% of ROW’s total P1020 production.
Russia, Canada, Norway, Iceland, and Brazil are the leading countries in the production of low-carbon/green primary aluminum units, where hydroelectric power is a common power source for the production of primary aluminum.
Commitment. To provide the market with the finest tools to analyze and make the best informed commercial and/or hedging decisions, we will begin publishing the new assessment under the strictest technical scrutiny. This should help to establish the most representative and accurate US MW P1020 Green Aluminum Spot Premium available in the market, for as long as the market and our clients require it.
Standard Specification. Daily duty-paid premium paid over the London Metal Exchange cash price for spot physical 99.7% high-grade aluminum with 4.5 kg or less of CO2 emitted per kg of aluminium produced (Scope 1 and 2).
Calculations of CO2 emissions according to WRI and/or IAI GHG Protocols. Product traceable to a single smelter, delivered at US consumer plant in the Midwest area, on transactions between consumers and suppliers for volumes of 100 mton or higher, arrival within 7-30 days, net-30-day credit terms and standard credit risk.
Includes business for LME-deliverable units (ingot, low-profile sow or T-bars), any origin 99.7% aluminum or better sold as P1020, basis delivery US Midwest via truck or rail.
Premium will reflect physical spot transactions where reported buyers and sellers are both considered not to have a conflict of interest (i.e. downstream company not affiliated to an upstream company and/or without relevant third-party sales of primary or secondary metal), using a representative sample of end-users (sheet mills, extruders, rolling mills, etc.), producers and traders.
The range assessment reflects the most widely tradable and repeatable premium prevailing at the close of US business, after 3:00pm US Central time.