Rusal told about the increase in capacity for the production of raw materials for aerated concrete

Aluminum producer Rusal will increase its capacity to produce raw materials for aerated concrete - aluminum powders and pastes (gas formers) - by a third, the company's press service said. The investment project is implemented by Metalcom LLC, which unites Rusal's powder business. Its two production sites are located in Shelekhov in the Irkutsk region and in Volgograd.

"As a result of the project, our annual capacity in Shelekhov will grow from 1.2 to 2.4 thousand tons of advanced gas formers per year, and our total capacity, including the previously launched equipment in Volgograd, will grow to 4.8 thousand tons. "Rusal is the largest supplier of gas formers to the Russian construction industry. We have also started exporting our products and see great prospects in foreign markets," said Nikolay Melnikov, CEO of Metalcom.

The share of European suppliers of aluminum powders and pastes in the Russian market has decreased since 2022. The needs of the domestic construction industry have since then been met almost exclusively by domestic production.

"Aerated concrete is widely used in the construction of both high-rise residential complexes and low-rise residential complexes for the construction of non-load-bearing exterior and interior walls. It is used in the majority of objects where non-load-bearing external and internal walls are provided, in Moscow and Moscow region, for example, aerated concrete is used in all objects under construction, in which, according to architectural solutions, external masonry of non-load-bearing walls or internal masonry of non-load-bearing inter-apartment walls is provided," explained Alexander Mikhailovsky, Head of Construction of the Balance-2 project of Glavstroy.

According to him, aerated concrete is about four times lighter than reinforced concrete, and its thermal conductivity is almost 15 times lower, respectively, it is much better at retaining heat.