Sustainable Lighting And Green Aluminum

Those of us with gray hair remember that luminaire housings were primarily made of steel until the LED revolution. Aluminum became the predominant luminaire housing material because of its superior thermal conductivity that keeps LED engines cooler.

Today, there is enormous interest and pressure to make luminaires from more sustainable materials. More designers are demanding it, and more luminaire makers are stepping up, including getting third-party certifications such as the Declare Label (increasing transparency and sustainability). Given all of the current aluminum heat sinks and housings, sustainable lighting will require greener aluminum. Aluminum is already considered the most sustainable metal because of it’s near infinite recyclability and high rates of recycling. Aluminum also requires less energy to transport because it is lighter in weight than iron, steel, etc. However, both new and recycled aluminum production have significant carbon footprints today.

Green aluminum utilizes renewable energy as well as new green smelting technologies (like inert anode). Green primary aluminum is in increasing demand, and, as a result, aluminum products branded as “low-carbon” or “green” are starting to charge a premium price. The lighting industry is also going to increasingly compete with the automotive, beverage, construction, and electrical industries during a projected period of rapidly increasing aluminum demand.

According to the International Aluminum Institute, the power supply mix of aluminum production is shifting. While 50% of the world’s aluminum is still made using coal power, 39% is now made using hydropower. In North America, over 83% of aluminum production in 2018 was powered by hydroelectricity, compared to just 55% in 2008. Alcoa is a primary aluminum producer in North America, with 70% of its smelters being hydro-powered, a target they hope to increase to 85%.

Examples of green aluminum brands include:

• Rio Tinto’s RenewAl,
• Alcoa’s product line called Sustana, which features its Ecolum low-carbon product,
• Reduxa by Norsk Hydro,
• Allow by Rusal,
• CelestiAl by EGA,
• NaturAl by Century,
• Restora by Vedanta.
• Super Green Aluminum brands (metal with high recycled content; mainly post-consumer) include Norsk Hydro’s Circal, among others.

I predict sustainable lighting brands will soon begin sourcing green aluminum for their heat sinks and housings. This will aid their product development of sustainable luminaires and 3^rd-party sustainable certifications. I could not locate any products claiming to use green aluminum today. If you know of any, please comment below.

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

See Full Bio