CN 7601 under CBAM — Unwrought Aluminium (Ingots & Billets)
Unwrought aluminium
Primary aluminium ingots, billets, slabs and wire bar — the raw metal from India’s smelters (Hindalco, Vedanta, NALCO) and the secondary (recycled) ingot industry. This is the heading where aluminium’s CBAM story is set: everything downstream — extrusions, sheet, foil — inherits the metal’s emissions as a precursor.
Where the emissions in CN 7601 come from
Aluminium smelting is extreme electricity intensity — and in India, more than half of smelting capacity runs on coal-based captive power, putting coal-route metal at 14–18 tCO₂/t while hydro-powered smelters achieve 4–7 tCO₂/t and scrap-based secondary metal 0.5–1.5 tCO₂/t. The EU default value for this heading is deliberately conservative. Because Indian aluminium spans coal-powered smelting (14–18 tCO₂/t) down to hydro-powered (4–7 tCO₂/t) and scrap-based metal (0.5–1.5 tCO₂/t), a default erases exactly the low-carbon advantage that cleaner producers actually have — verified actuals restore it.
Why we don’t print a default value here
The EU publishes and updates specific default values per goods category separately — quoting a stale number would mislead you. What never changes: defaults are set deliberately high, and the markup escalates from 10% in 2026 to 30% by 2028 for steel and aluminium (free-allowance phase-out runs to 2034). Use the CBAM calculator for a current, product-specific estimate.
Exporting under CN 7601? Three moves, in order.
- 01
Identify your production route and precursors
Establish the power source behind every tonne: coal captive, grid, hydro or renewables — under CBAM aluminium’s indirect (Scope 2) emissions are counted, and power source is the whole story. Secondary producers: document the scrap charge.
- 02
Collect the data you already have
Captive-plant fuel and generation records or grid bills, smelter energy-intensity data, anode consumption records, alumina sourcing (a precursor if purchased), cast-house production logs.
- 03
File verified actuals, not defaults
Have the numbers computed to the EU CBAM methodology and verified, then hand your EU buyer’s Authorised Declarant a filing they can use. Verified actuals typically cut the CBAM cost by up to ~40% versus default values — and the default markup only gets worse, escalating from 10% in 2026 to 30% by 2028 for steel and aluminium.
Free this quarter: We cover your first report (April–June 2026) so an inflated EU default never costs you an order. Continue only if you choose to. Free for the April–June 2026 quarter — start your report by 30 September 2026.
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