Bofeng Aluminium Capacity Upgrade Advances China’s Smelter Modernisation

Aluminium Ingot

Bofeng Aluminium capacity is being modernised through a new 180,000 t/yr primary aluminium smelter in Chongqing, with start-up targeted for 30 October. The project will replace older capacity owned by the company’s two shareholders.

Bofeng Aluminium capacity replacement involves total investment of 1.7bn yuan and will use newer 400kA electrolytic cells. These will replace older 240kA and 300kA technology currently operating at shareholder facilities.

Bofeng Aluminium capacity development reflects China’s broader policy of keeping national primary aluminium capacity within a 45mn t/yr ceiling. New smelting projects must therefore replace existing capacity rather than add net production.

The project shows how Chinese aluminium producers are using replacement quotas to modernise equipment, improve efficiency and reposition capacity without breaching the national cap.

New 400kA Cells Replace Older Chongqing Capacity

Guofengshiye, which owns 50% of Bofeng, currently operates 80,000 t/yr of aluminium capacity in Chongqing. That capacity is scheduled to be dismantled from 1 October.

Tiantai Aluminium, which owns the remaining 50%, operates another 100,000 t/yr in the city. Its existing smelting capacity will also be dismantled during the same period.

Together, the closures match the 180,000 t/yr capacity of the new Bofeng smelter. This preserves overall production capacity while upgrading the technology base.

The shift to 400kA electrolytic cells is important because larger, newer cells can improve energy efficiency, operating stability and labour productivity compared with older smelting technology.

Electricity remains the largest cost in aluminium smelting. Even without increasing nominal output, technology upgrades can improve competitiveness by lowering power consumption per tonne and reducing maintenance requirements.

For Bofeng, the project is therefore more about cost structure and operating efficiency than volume growth.

China’s Capacity Cap Drives Industry Restructuring

China’s 45mn t/yr aluminium capacity ceiling has become one of the most important structural policies shaping the domestic smelting sector.

Because producers cannot simply build new capacity, expansion increasingly takes the form of replacement, relocation and technology upgrades.

Qiya is moving 210,000 t/yr of capacity from Yunnan to Xinjiang to support downstream operations, with start-up planned for December. Wanji Holding is also replacing Henan capacity with a new Xinjiang smelter scheduled for completion in 2027.

These projects show that aluminium capacity is becoming more mobile within China. Producers are relocating smelters toward regions offering cheaper power, stronger downstream integration or better industrial infrastructure.

The policy also limits uncontrolled supply growth. This can support market discipline while encouraging older, less efficient capacity to exit.

For global aluminium markets, China’s replacement model matters because future supply growth will depend less on headline new projects and more on how existing quotas are transferred, upgraded and utilised.

The Metalnomist Commentary

China’s aluminium cap is turning capacity replacement into a technology race rather than a volume race. Producers that secure cheaper power and more efficient smelting equipment will gain the strongest cost advantage within a fixed national ceiling.