The present status and possible future developments of energy consumption in the German aluminium industry

The present work describes the status quo of the energy consumption in the German primary aluminium industry and the technical options which are realized so far in Germany for reducing the consumption in this energy-intensive industrial branch. By taking into consideration the technologies which are available now and in the near future for efficient energy use in aluminium production (especially by using the benefits of microelectronics in the fields of process monitoring and controlling) as well as the economic context for the aluminium industry in Germany, an estimate is given for the possible future development of the energy consumption in German Aluminium industry.