China's aluminum ingot industry

In the past decade, China's aluminum ingot industry has undergone a structural transformation from 'scale expansion' to 'green intelligence', consolidating its position as the world's largest producer and consumer. By 2025, the production of electrolytic aluminum will reach 44.61 million tons, accounting for 60% of the world's total, with a production capacity approaching the policy red line of 45.43 million tons and a utilization rate of 98%. The industrial layout is showing a trend of 'moving west and expanding south', with the proportion of production capacity in southwest green electricity rich areas such as Yunnan and Sichuan rising to 30%, while the proportion of traditional production areas such as Xinjiang and Shandong has decreased, forming a pattern of 'green electricity aluminum leading and traditional aluminum upgrading'. Technological innovation drives efficiency leaps, and the popularization of 600kA ultra large electrolytic cells has reduced the electricity consumption per ton of aluminum to 13250 kWh. The AI intelligent control system achieves real-time optimization of the electrolysis process, and the accuracy of fault warning exceeds 95%. The green transformation has achieved significant results, reaching carbon peak 6 years ahead of schedule, with recycled aluminum production exceeding 12 million tons, accounting for 22.3%, green electric aluminum production capacity exceeding 13 million tons, and unit carbon emissions reduced by 18%. Optimizing the consumption structure, with an average annual increase of 25% in demand for new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and other fields, to offset the impact of the real estate downturn, the localization rate of high-end aluminum ingots has increased to 60%. Leading companies such as Chinalco and Nanshan have built a full industry chain advantage, promoting the industry from 'following' to 'leading in parallel'.