China rolls out three-year energy, carbon reduction plan for aluminum and other key industries

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and four other government departments have jointly issued the "Notice on Launching a Three-Year Action Plan for Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Retrofits in Key Industries." Starting in 2026, the plan will implement targeted retrofits across nine energy-intensive industries over a three-year period, with primary aluminum listed as a priority. As an indispensable and critical supporting material for aluminum production, aluminum-use carbon products--including prebaked anodes and cathode carbon blocks--are now aligning closely with downstream industrial policies. The entire sector is entering a critical window for process upgrades and energy efficiency improvements, ushering in a systematic reshaping of industry supply, demand, and development patterns.

The three-year action plan sets clear targets for 2026–2028: comprehensively advancing energy-saving retrofits across China's electrolytic aluminum industry, accelerating the adoption of large-scale 500kA and above prebaked electrolytic cells, graphitized cathodes, and high-quality prebaked anodes, while phasing out old, high-energy-consumption small cells. By the end of 2028, the proportion of benchmark energy-efficient production capacity in the electrolytic aluminum industry is expected to increase by 20 percentage points, with outdated and inefficient capacity largely eliminated.