Industry Partnerships
U.S. aluminum producers recognize that energy efficiency offers a competitive edge in world markets. In 1996, the U.S. industry entered into partnership with the Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) to work toward shared goals. Since then, the Aluminum Industry of the Future partnership has been supplying the technology pipeline so that U.S. aluminum producers will have the technologies they need to achieve their long-term economic, energy, and environmental goals.
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Industries of the Future Partnership
The Industries of the Future process helps entire industries articulate their long-term goals and publish them in a unified vision for the future. To achieve that vision, industry leaders jointly define detailed R&D agendas known as roadmaps. ITP relies on roadmap-defined priorities to target cost-shared solicitations and guide development of a balanced R&D portfolio that yields useful results in the near-, mid-, and long-term.
Vision
Under the leadership of The Aluminum Association, the industry reached a consensus on broad goals for the future and published them in its 2001 document Aluminum Industry Vision. (PDF 939 KB).
Roadmaps
A series of technology roadmaps in diverse, critical areas identify the priorities and performance targets for the aluminum industry. Roadmaps are used to identify opportunities for industry collaboration and to guide Federal R&D spending. Completed roadmaps developed for the aluminum industry include:
Aluminum Industry Technology Roadmap
This roadmap describes the industry's R&D strategy, priorities, milestones, and performance targets for achieving its long-term goals. It accounts for changes in the industry and the global marketplace since the first roadmap was published in 1997. An updated roadmap was published November 2001. (PDF 1.1 MB).
Alumina Technology Roadmap
The Alumina Technology Roadmap outlines a comprehensive long-term research and development plan that defines the industry's collective future and establishes a clear pathway forward. It emphasizes twelve high-priority R&D areas deemed most significant in addressing the strategic goals. (PDF 316 KB).
Aluminum Industry Roadmap for the Automotive Market
Defines R&D needed to enhance the cost-effectiveness of using aluminum in automobiles. This development is supported by the DOE Office of Transportation Technologies. (PDF 482 KB).
Inert Anode Roadmap
Defines required performance characteristics to guide development of inert anode technology for advanced aluminum cells. (PDF 196 KB).