CBAM Guide for the Aluminum Sector

Aluminum has the highest embedded emissions coefficients of any CBAM sector — because primary aluminum production relies on an extremely electricity-intensive electrolysis process (anode consumption). In this guide, we cover the coefficients for the 4 product groups and a verified worked example.

For how CBAM works in general, the transition timeline, and the certificate cost formula, we recommend first reading our general CBAM guide — here we focus directly on the coefficients and example specific to the Aluminum sector.

Aluminum CBAM Product Catalog

CBAM covers 4 product groups in the Aluminum sector (CN codes 7601-7616):

Source: the CBAM section of our Bibliography page (full list of all 25 products).

Why Are the Coefficients So High?

Aluminum's coefficients are far higher than all 5 other CBAM sectors combined (even the lowest aluminum coefficient — 11.50 — is more than 5 times most iron-steel products) because primary production requires extracting alumina from bauxite and then producing metallic aluminum via electrolysis (the Hall-Héroult process) — on its own one of the most energy-intensive industrial processes in the world. The ~26% gap between Unwrought Ingot (11.50) and Foil (14.50) comes from the additional electricity consumed as the ingot is rolled and thinned into foil.

Worked Example

For a company exporting 20 tons of Aluminum Foil (coefficient: 14.50 ton CO2e/ton):

Embedded Emissions = 20 tons × 14.50 = 290 ton CO2e
Cost = 20 × 14.50 × €72.5/ton (EU ETS price) × 0.10 (2026 phase-out rate) = €2,102.50

Because the coefficient is so high, the same physical export volume leads to a much higher CBAM cost than other sectors — which makes early preparation especially important for aluminum exporters.