Overall North American aluminum flat-rolled product demand is forecast to grow nearly 5%/year through 2022, with automotive sheet leading the way, Braidy Industries Chief Operating Officer Blaine Holt said Tuesday.
Speaking during the S&P Global Platts Aluminum Symposium in San Diego, Holt said auto sheet demand is expected to grow 78.6% overall in the five-year period from 2017-2022, topping 1.245 million mt. Aluminum foil demand is expected to grow 12.6% during the same period to 900,000 mt, he said.
The anticipated demand growth comes as Holt said domestic aluminum rolling capacity is maxed out, tariffs and duties have pushed up import prices and supply deficits are apparent in common alloy and aluminum automotive sheets.
The situation is also developing as Braidy is building the first greenfield aluminum rolling mill project in the US in more than 30 years. The Kentucky facility, located within a day's drive of 50% of US automotive production, will target the automotive and industrial markets for lightweight exposed aluminum sheet.
"If you wanted to look for great conditions to build a company, this is it," Holt said.
Braidy's also been moving forward through its NanoAl unit on what Holt referred to as "the path to super aluminum" - a proprietary production process that promises to yield 20% strength improvement and 20% weight savings over standard material.
NanoAl has developed a patented nanocrystal embedding process, with early product lines supporting the wire and cable industry. And NanoAl's approach will also enable products in the area of casting alloys, aluminum powder for 3-D printing and aluminum sheet, Holt said.
"We believe that this is a revolution in material science under way," Holt said. "That's going to completely change the equation."
