On June 10, the casting aluminum alloy futures and options were listed for trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Casting aluminum alloy is a primary pathway for the recycling of scrap aluminum and an important product in the global aluminum industry’s low-carbon transformation. It falls under the resource recycling and remanufacturing industries that China is vigorously promoting. The production of recycled aluminum alloy directly utilizes scrap aluminum as raw material, eliminating energy-intensive processes such as bauxite mining, alumina dissolution, and electrolytic aluminum production, thereby achieving a sustainable development model of “one-time energy consumption, lifelong utilization.”

Currently, the recycling of scrap aluminum is mainly used for the production of casting aluminum alloy. According to data from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, producing one ton of casting aluminum alloy generates only about 3.6% of the carbon emissions associated with electrolytic aluminum production, while saving 3.4 metric tons of standard coal and 22 metric tons of water.

At the same time, the listing of casting aluminum alloy futures and options will help advance the high-end, intelligent, green development of China’s nonferrous metals industry, as well as contribute to the construction of a unified national market. It will better serve the development needs of new industrialization, for example, by continuously improving the product system, achieving steady growth in market scale, and supporting industrial transformation and upgrading.