Primary aluminium inventories extended gains by 20,000 mt on week

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Rio Tinto has signed a long-term agreement with RevoCast Aluminum Billets to expand low-carbon aluminum billet supply to extrusion customers across North America. Under the agreement, Rio Tinto will exclusively market billet produced at RevoCast’s newly commissioned facility in Langley, British Columbia, combining hydropower-based primary aluminum from Rio Tinto’s Kitimat smelter with recycled aluminum processed by RevoCast. RevoCast’s Langley facility, commissioned in August 2026, has capacity of more than 80,000 tonnes/year of 6xxx-series aluminum billet. The billet will target extrusion applications across construction, transportation and industrial markets, using recycled aluminum and remelting technology designed to reduce energy consumption and emissions. For the aluminum market, the partnership adds more than 80 kt/y of regional billet casting capacity and creates an additional outlet for Rio Tinto’s low-carbon Kitimat metal, while increasing recycled content in North American extrusion billet. This is downstream casting capacity rather than additional primary aluminum production.

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Hydro has signed a strategic partnership with CHANEL Fragrance and Beauty to develop lower-carbon aluminum for fragrance, makeup and skincare packaging, with a joint roadmap running from 2026 to 2030. The companies aim to reduce the carbon footprint of aluminum used in the packaging to around 3.0 kg CO₂e/kg aluminum by 2030, while also improving traceability and exploring greater use of post-consumer recycled aluminum. The collaboration will initially use Hydro REDUXA primary aluminum sheet ingot produced in Norway using renewable energy, with a certified carbon footprint of no more than 4.0 kg CO₂e/kg aluminum. The ingot will subsequently be rolled into aluminum sheet for packaging applications, while Hydro and CHANEL will test specific production batches and additional measures to further lower emissions. For the aluminum market, the partnership represents incremental demand for premium low-carbon primary and recycled aluminum in high-value packaging, although neither company disclosed expected aluminum volumes or a specific offtake commitment.