GFG Alliance unveils new “green” aluminum enterprise

Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, headquartered in London, has announced plans to create a new global “low-carbon” aluminum group.

The venture, called Alvance Aluminum Group (Alvance), will be headquartered in Paris and will bring together GFG Alliance’s assets in its aluminum supply chain, from raw materials to finished components, to “drive synergies that will help the business meet ever-increasing market challenges and take full advantage of opportunities to expand,” according to a company news release.

The move follows GFG Alliance’s decision last October to consolidate its group’s steel businesses into a single global entity called Liberty Steel Group.

Gupta, GFG Alliance’s executive chairman, says Alvance will aim to establish itself as a “champion for green aluminum.” He has revealed he is extending GFG Alliance’s carbon neutral 2030 (CN30) program to Alvance, with the aim of setting Alvance on course to become what GFG calls “the new standard-bearer for sustainable aluminum production.”

“Extending our CN30 target to this part of the business is both a logical and necessary step in its development,” Gupta says. “Given the rise in customer demand for stronger, lighter-weight, recyclable materials, we see aluminum as a key opportunity for growth and sustainable profitability. However, we operate in an international market that’s both cyclical and under competitive pressure, and so by combining our businesses, we’re looking to achieve greater synergies, increase efficiencies and ensure the business is fit to meet the challenges ahead.”

Alvance’s portfolio includes Europe’s largest aluminum smelter in Dunkerque, France, as well as what GFG calls the United Kingdom’s only remaining aluminum smelter in Fort William, Scotland. Alvance also has conditionally agreed to acquire Belgium’s Duffel aluminum rolling facilities and is participating in an approval process with the European Commission’s competition team.

The group says the company already exploits low-carbon power sources at the Fort William smelter, powered by GFG Alliance’s hydro-electric station, and the Dunkerque smelter, which makes use of France’s existing nuclear and hydro-electric sources.

Arnaud de Weert, Alvance chief executive, says, “GFG Alliance aims to be at the vanguard of sustainable production of materials that will help the automotive and other sectors deliver lighter, greener, more efficient products.”