• 08 – 10 October 2024
  • Exhib. Centre Düsseldorf

ALUMINIUM Business Summit: Start of a new era

24 August 2021
Düsseldorf

New forms of mobility. Advancing digitalization. The pressure to become more sustainable. And changing rules of the game in the international market: the industry is looking for answers. The ALUMINIUM Business Summit accompanies the industry in constructively tackling the biggest challenges.

 

"Shaping a new Industrial Era" - this is the title of the first ALUMINIUM Business Summit to be held at the Altes Stahlwerk in Düsseldorf on September 28 and 29. ALUMINIUM, Aluminium Deutschland, the CRU Group and European Aluminium have joined forces for the new hybrid format and recruited some of the most relevant and exciting speakers on the topic for presentations and discussion panels.

"The aluminum industry is an important partner for many industries worldwide," emphasizes Marius Baader, Managing Director of Aluminium Deutschland. "And each of these industries has challenges: Decarbonization, technical transformations, increased requirements for recycling processes are highly relevant topics. These big questions, also for the future of our industry, can only be discussed together in personal exchange."

Aluminum makes mobile

Which scenarios for tomorrow's mobility are realistic - and which are "Silicon Valley Dreams"? What are the answers of the automotive industry regarding the powertrain question? Which materials are making the running in aviation? At the Business Summit, Alois Winkler from AUDI provides insights into the prospects from the perspective of the premium manufacturer. Manuel Kallweit (VDA) talks about the automotive industry's responses to the disruptive developments we are currently experiencing. Blanka Lenczowski from Airbus Defence and Space will shed light on the topics of sustainability and lightweight construction from an aerospace perspective.

How digital can it be?

Digital solutions in the post-Corona era - and how AI can help master the challenges of digital transformation - are the focus of the keynotes by Andre Barten (Achenbach) and Mike Goertz (ABB Germany). The Achenbach CEO is dedicated to digital solutions in the battery industry, Mike Goertz to how artificial intelligence can help to tackle the challenges of digital transformation. What the future of a completely automated company could look like is the topic of Jonas Moßler, CEO of SUSI & James.

Key factor for the circular economy

"The aluminum industry is in a period of transformation. Sustainability is driving technological developments in primary and secondary markets, new demand applications, product development and changes in China's position in export markets," says CRU's Dominic Halahan.

The ALUMINIUM Business Summit is therefore also dedicated to the topics of sustainability and the international markets. Experts such as Serge Gaudin (Novelis) will show how recycled aluminum has become a key factor in the circular economy and decarbonization. In addition to the growing importance of recycling, the Summit explores what impact decarbonization may have on global supply chains or how China's role in the global aluminum industry is changing.

Sustainability expert Carsten Gerhardt from Kearney will present the "Circular Valley" - an initiative that aims to turn the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region into a global accelerator in terms of the circular economy. And aims to bring about nothing less than the fifth industrial revolution.

It also becomes political

The role and future of the European aluminum industry will also be a topic at the ALUMINIUM Business Summit. "Aluminum is one of the most important materials for Europe's transition to a carbon-neutral and circular economy," says Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium. "Our contribution to climate protection and sustainability is always influenced by political framework conditions."

At the Summit, therefore, the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on the aluminum industry will be in focus, as will, for example, the role of efficient take-back and sorting structures in achieving new, even higher recycling targets.

Spoilt for choice

The Business' new hybrid format gives attendees a choice: either attend the networking event live in Düsseldorf or follow the keynotes, panel discussions and interviews digitally.

 

ALUMINIUM Business Summit 2021:

28 ­–29 September 2021
Altes Stahlwerk Düsseldorf

Further Information and programme