The US was once a leader in primary aluminum production and research.

Aluminum is designated a critical mineral by the Department of Energy & USGS and a strategic metal by the Department of Defense. Locations like Niagra Falls and Tennessee Valley Authority provided vast, uninterrupted power to produce the metal.

Over the past 45 years, production has shifted to locations using coal-fired power plants. In the United States, production has dwindled to one refinery, a few operating smelters, and no domestic raw material supply. The lower Mississippi River in Louisiana is permanently polluted with toxic, caustic, and radioactive Red Mud waste from the Bayer refining process.

No new alternative technological advancement has occurred since the Bayer Hall Heroult invention in the late 1800s. The industry invests only in marginal improvements.

The fundamental issues of pollution, emissions, and massive energy requirements remain. The industry’s solution is to rely on clean energy to reduce emissions and promote it as “green” aluminum.