Another aluminum plant in Europe is closing its doors, providing new evidence of the damage caused by the energy crisis that has hit the European industrial sector and reduced the supply of vital raw materials, according to Bloomberg, cited by Agerpres.

Although electricity prices have fallen significantly from last year’s record highs, Speira Gmbh announced on Thursday that it has decided to close its aluminum plant in Rheinwerk, Germany, this year due to problems in the energy market.

The plant’s closure follows a halving of production announced last September, when the explosion in electricity and gas prices put Europe’s steel industry, a major energy-consuming sector, on the brink of an existential crisis.

While some aluminum smelters have managed to resume production in recent weeks, the closures announced by Spare are also a sign of the obstacles facing policymakers trying to avoid a new wave of deindustrialization.

At the same time, the political factor is trying to strengthen the local supply of vital industrial raw materials in an environment where global supply chains are becoming increasingly fragile.

The EU wants more autonomy over raw materials

According to a European Commission document consulted by Bloomberg, which will be presented later this month, the Community’s executive body wants to produce at least 40% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials in 2030.

The document does not specify which raw materials are targeted, but in 2020 the EU identified 30 types of raw materials of strategic importance, many of which play an important role in renewable energy sources, electric vehicle production, aerospace and defense industries.

That list included bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is made, but not aluminum itself.

For several decades, the global aluminum market has suffered from the problem of excess production capacity, but events in recent years, including the trade war between the US and China, the invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis in Europe, have highlighted the fragility of global supply chains.

This is dangerous given the West’s dependence on aluminum supplies from major producers such as China and Russia.

Reduction of aluminum production in Europe

Aluminum is one of the most energy-intensive metals to produce, and European aluminum production capacity has shrunk by more than half since the energy crisis began.

Many aluminum plants have cut production, while others, such as Norsk Hydro ASA’s plant in Slovakia and Alcoa Corp. from San Ciprián (Spain), completely stopped production.

Like those plants, the Speira smelter in Germany will be put into a long-term maintenance program and could be reopened if economic data improves, a company spokesman said.

But restarting an aluminum plant is a slow and expensive process, and some aluminum plants in Europe that were closed during previous crises never reopened.