29.05.2023 - АAluminium Association
The Government of the Russian Federation has approved an action plan to stimulate demand for aluminium industry products for the period up to 2025 and the further perspective up to 2030. The plan, which was developed over several months on the initiative of the Aluminium Association, is an application document - with deadlines, responsible parties and expected economic effect for each of the items included in it.
The plan includes a set of systemic measures necessary for the comprehensive development of the production and consumption of aluminium products: state support measures for aluminium consumption sectors, legal regulation, technical regulation, standardisation and accreditation, development programmes aimed at expanding the use of high-tech aluminium products in the domestic market, aluminium industry logistics and human resources.
The action plan provides for an assessment of the state of development of the domestic aluminium industry and the possibility of import substitution, based on the results of which it is expected to expand the list of "pull" projects that have a multiplicative effect in various consuming industries. With the participation of development institutions and investment funds, proposals will be developed to develop mechanisms for financing the creation and modernisation of production facilities for critical products, components and parts made of aluminium that are not manufactured in Russia.
Implementation of the document will have a positive synergistic effect on the development of related industries: construction, transport infrastructure, energy, consumer goods, automotive industry, etc. The increase in aluminium consumption is in line with the global ESG principles, as this metal is a sustainable material whose key feature is that it can be endlessly recycled at minimal cost and without loss of properties.
According to the strategic goals of the Aluminium Association, domestic aluminium consumption is expected to grow by more than 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes to reach 1.5 million tonnes annually by 2026. In per capita terms, that's about 10kg per year, which would come close to the ever-increasing global average. Meanwhile, the growth in aluminium consumption is an indicator of the development of high-tech industries in the country, for which this metal is critical: green construction, energy, automotive and machine building in general, modern recyclable packaging, and others.
"The adopted Action Plan is primarily aimed at ensuring the country's technological independence in the field of aluminium products. In the current environment, we need to stimulate domestic demand as quickly as possible, enter new export markets, and ramp up production of critical aluminium products that were not produced in Russia. We expect that the implementation of the Plan will contribute to a significant increase in the consumption of aluminium products, as well as allow us to reach a new qualitative level of their production," said Irina Kazovskaya, Co-Chair of the Aluminium Association.