Aluminum Production

The industrial process of producing aluminium metal from alumina through electrolytic reduction (smelting) using the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina dissolved in molten cryolite is reduced at carbon cathodes in reduction pots to produce liquid aluminium metal, which is cast into ingots, billets, or slabs for downstream fabrication. Aluminum production is energy-intensive, requiring approximately 13–15 megawatt-hours of electricity per tonne of metal produced.