The price of aluminum has gone crazy! Why did Alcoa promise not to build a new aluminum smelter?

AA.US (Alcoa) CEO Roy Harvey said Tuesday that the company has no plans to increase capacity by building a new aluminum smelter. He reiterated that Alcoa would only use Elysis technology to build low-emission plants.

Harvey also said Alcoa would not invest in traditional technology, whether expanding or building new capacity.

Harvey's comments attracted market attention as aluminium surged to an all-time high on Monday and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine exacerbated persistent shortages in global aluminium supplies. Aluminum is an industrial metal used in the production of automobiles, aircraft, household appliances and packaging products. CENX.US, the second-largest US aluminium producer, reserved the possibility of increasing production capacity later in the day.

Elysis, a joint venture between Alcoa and RIO.US, is understood to have developed an aluminium production technology that does not emit carbon dioxide. Alcoa has said it expects the technology to be commercially produced within a few years and promised in November that any new plant would use the technology.

Last year, there was a shortage of 1.9 million tons in the global aluminum market, according to the (WBMS) of the World Bureau of Metals Statistics.

Boosted by the rise in aluminum prices, Alcoa was up nearly 6% as of March 1, and Century Aluminum was up nearly 12%.