, Columnist
Aluminum’s Surge Is Really an Energy Crisis in Disguise
The industry needs to find another source of power or it won’t survive the transition to a decarbonized society — and that means sectors from construction and consumer products to new-generation technologies will suffer.
Hang on for more disruption.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
There’s an odd exception to the list of best-performing raw materials this year.
While the 64% gain in the Bloomberg Commodities Energy index since the start of the year has comfortably outstripped the 25% improvement in industrial metals, one major element has been behaving more like natural gas, coal or oil: Aluminum, which hit $3,000 a metric ton — its highest level in 13 years — earlier this month.