ALUM is one of the beneficiaries of EUR 8.8 million granted by the European Commission to ReActiv project’s stakeholders

·  The Industrial Residue activation for sustainable cement production, project (“ReActiv”) will create a novel sustainable value chain, linking bauxite residue, the by-product of the alumina production with the cement industry

·  In ReActiv project, ALUM participates as a stakeholder, providing appropriate samples of bauxite residue to be processed in the project and contributes to the feasibility studies and business plan development, especially in regards to potential technology deployment at cement plants

·  The alumina producers will modify the properties of the industrial residue, transforming it into an active material suitable for new cement products, with low CO₂ footprint

·  ALUM is member of a 21-company Consortium which will implement the ReActiv project, under the coordination of LafargeHolcim, through its Research and Development Center

Tulcea, 21 July 2020 – ALUM S.A. (BSE, ATS segment - AeRO: BBGA), the only calcined alumina producer in Romania, is one of the stakeholders of the ReActiv project, an initiative aiming to reduce waste and CO₂ emissions by transforming bauxite residue, the main by-product of the alumina sector, into an active material suitable for developing new cement products, with low CO₂ footprint. Coordinated by LafargeHolcim through its Research and Development Center („Lafarge Centre de Recherche SAS”), the project is part of the Horizon 2020 program for creating low carbon circular industries and received EUR 8.8 million grant from the European Commission.

ReActiv focuses on transforming a currently unexploited industrial residue from the alumina sector Bauxite Residue, into active material for new sustainable cement products. In ReActiv project, ALUM participates as a stakeholder, providing appropriate samples of bauxite residue to be processed in the project, contributes to the feasibility studies and business plan development, especially in regards to potential technology deployment at cement plants. The project will be implemented starting end of 2020 or early 2021 and will be finalized in a four year period.

“Through ReActiv project, altogether with several industry leaders and European institutions, we reinforce our sustainability commitments with a main focus on circular economy projects through the implementation of innovative methods to reduce near to zero emissions & waste and our carbon footprint while creating better products, with lower impact on the environment”, said Gheorghe DOBRA, CEO of ALUM. “With this new step of vertical integration and future investments in our facilities, we are not only contributing to protecting the environment and our local community, but also to creating a potentially new and sustainable business line", added Gheorghe DOBRA.

The ReActiv project will deploy new technologies that will transform the bauxite residue in a re-active material for low CO₂ cement production, to substitute 30% to 50% of clinker, the main component of cement. The process will provide much lower costs and will produce novel cement products with equal or better performances while reducing emissions related to production by at least 30%.

Moreover, the ReActiv project’s objectives are to: reduce with at least 30% the primary raw material use per tonne of cement; cut-off waste generation by at least 25%; provide significant energy savings and reductions in CO₂ emissions; establish the secure and sustainable provision of secondary resources at a total cost lower than existing solutions and to provide a sustainable method that can be replicated across industries. 

Furthermore, for the alumina producers, having the possibility of further usage of the bauxite residue and reintroducing it in other industries represents a significant step forward in terms of achieving a sustainable value chain. Moreover, this will relieve the ecosystems in the vicinity of alumina refineries from the stockpiling and costs associated with them, as well as developing a new business line, where its waste becomes a resource and, ultimately, a new innovative product.

For further information, please contact:

www.alro.ro

Florența Ghiță

Bucharest

Phone: +40 744 644 004

Email: investor.relations@alro.ro

About:

ALUM

ALUM is the only Romanian producer of calcined alumina, used for the production of aluminium and has an alumina refinery with a production capacity of 600,000 tonnes of alumina per year. The alumina produced by the company is supplied both on the domestic market to ALRO S.A., part of the Vimetco Group, and internationally. ALUM is listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange since December 1997 on RASDAQ and migrated towards the ATS segment, AeRO category in May 2015. Its shares are traded under the symbol “BBGA”. 

ALRO Group

 ALRO S.A. and its subsidiaries are collectively referred to as ''ALRO Group'' or ''the Group''. The companies part of ALRO Group are: Alro S.A. – the aluminium producer, Alum S.A. – the alumina producer, Sierra Mineral Holdings I, Ltd. – the bauxite mining company, Vimetco Extrusion S.R.L. – extrusion processing business line, Conef S.A. – Alro share portfolio management, Global Aluminium Ltd. – holding entity and Bauxite Marketing Ltd. Having this structure, the Group created an integrated production chain, assuring the raw materials for ALRO.