Representative image. Source Pexels

India’s aluminium sector is expected to witness significant long-term growth, but the expansion is also sharpening focus on the industry’s emissions profile, energy intensity, and future competitiveness in a carbon-conscious global economy. In its recently released Roadmap for Aluminium Sector Decarbonisation, NITI Aayog has outlined multiple pathways to reduce emissions across the aluminium value chain, including renewable energy adoption, cleaner technologies, energy efficiency measures, and carbon capture systems.

Alongside these broader transition strategies, the report also highlights the role that aluminium scrap recycling and secondary aluminium production can play in lowering the sector’s overall carbon footprint.

According to the roadmap, India’s aluminium production could rise from nearly 4 million tonnes in 2023 to approximately 37 million tonnes by 2070. At the same time, the sector currently contributes around 83 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions annually, accounting for nearly 2.8 per cent of India’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

A major challenge identified in the report is the sector’s dependence on coal-based electricity, which contributes significantly to the emissions intensity of primary aluminium production in India. In this context, the roadmap discusses secondary aluminium and recycling as one of several approaches that could help reduce energy consumption and emissions across the value chain.

The report notes that secondary aluminium production from scrap is substantially less carbon-intensive than primary aluminium manufacturing. Emissions from recycled aluminium are estimated at around 0.4–0.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of aluminium produced, nearly 95 per cent lower than conventional primary production routes.

This lower emissions profile is becoming increasingly relevant as global industries and trade systems begin placinggreater emphasis on embedded carbon, sustainable sourcing, and low-emission industrial materials.

The roadmap indicates that improving scrap utilisation and increasing recycled aluminium content could contribute to emissions reduction while also improving material efficiency and reducing pressure on energy-intensive primary production.

At the same time, the report acknowledges the need for stronger recycling infrastructure and a more organised scrap ecosystem to support wider adoption of secondary aluminium pathways. It points toward strengthening collection systems, improving scrap segregation and processing, and enhancing the availability of quality aluminium scrap streams within the country.

India’s secondary aluminium industry continues to depend significantly on imported scrap for raw material requirements. The issue has gained attention in recent years amid tightening global scrap availability, evolving trade policies, and concerns around supply security for downstream manufacturers and recyclers.

Within the broader decarbonisation roadmap, recycling is positioned as part of a wider circular economy strategy rather than as the central pillar of the transition. The report primarily focuses on large-scale structural interventions such as renewable energy integration, grid decarbonisation, process improvements, and future deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies.

However, the inclusion of recycling and secondary aluminium within the roadmap reflects growing policy recognition of the role circular material flows can play in industrial decarbonisation.

The roadmap also comes at a time when global markets are increasingly moving toward carbon-linked trade measures and sustainability-linked sourcing requirements. Mechanisms such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are expected to increase scrutiny on emissions embedded in industrial products, including metals.