Yasemin Sim Esmen

Key takeaways: The European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is just over three months away from entering its “definitive” period, but concerns among market participants remain. Long-term tariff clarity remains a key focus for market participants in the US aluminium market. Interest in Indonesian aluminium grows as output is set to rise.

Key takeaways: General Motors (GM) and Redwood Materials have signed a non-binding MoU to develop energy storage systems (ESSs) using both new US-manufactured batteries and second-life EV battery packs, aiming to accelerate deployment and enhance energy resilience. With electricity demand surging due to AI and electrification, GM and Redwood Materials emphasize the importance of fast, economical and domestically produced energy storage solutions to meet growing infrastructure needs.

With tariffs causing both economic uncertainty and higher aluminium premiums for the US, the North American aluminium industry has been questioning the possibility of demand destruction for the metal, according to industry participants.Alcoa president and chief executive office Bill Oplinger, while saying he was not speaking for the industry as a whole, believes that, if persistent, the high price of aluminium in the US could result “in demand destruction, which ultimately will hurt the...