A strategic industrial consortium bringing together Fives, Aluminium Dunkerque, Trimet and Rio Tinto has launched an ambitious carbon-capture initiative aimed at significantly reducing emissions from primary aluminium production in France.

The project, titled C4Capture, officially entered its pilot phase on 14 January 2026 at the Aluminium Dunkerque site. Throughout the year, testing will take place both in Dunkerque and at Trimet’s facility in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. These trials are designed to validate the technical and economic feasibility of the solution before progressing toward industrial-scale deployment.

The consortium is working with Albatross CO2 Capture, which will provide the CO₂ capture technology, conduct the testing programme and oversee operational setup. The objective is clear: contribute to a 50% reduction in direct CO₂ emissions (excluding energy-related emissions) from Aluminium Dunkerque’s primary aluminium production by 2030.

A key innovation within the project is the development of a CO₂ pre-concentration system using mini-hoods, designed to achieve gas purity levels close to industry standards. This is paired with an amine-based absorption system, adapted to the specific characteristics of gases emitted from aluminium electrolysis pots, a particularly complex industrial environment.

Primary aluminium production accounts for roughly 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with an average of 16.1 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of aluminium produced. French producers, already operating at approximately 4 tonnes CO₂ per tonne, are now targeting net-zero ambitions through advanced technological solutions.

Supported by the French Government under the France 2030 plan and selected under the DEMIBaC call led by ADEME, C4Capture represents a decisive step toward accelerating the decarbonisation of Europe’s aluminium industry, a sector central to lightweight mobility, renewable energy infrastructure and circular manufacturing.