Embodied energy trade

Energy shipped inside products made where power is cheap: food, metals, fertiliser and computing.

Transport · Heat, motion and embodied energy · No. 67

• Transport
• Form: Embodied

A tonne of aluminium carries about 14 MWh of electricity across oceans, far more cheaply than any cable could.

Chart: Illustration: Embodied energy trade

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Places with more energy than they can use, such as Iceland's dams or Gulf gas fields, pour it into products: a smelter needs about 14 MWh for each tonne of aluminium.

Three things to know

1. Carrying a tonne of aluminium 10,000 km by bulk ship burns only about 0.3 to 0.6% of the energy built into it.
2. In 2019 Iceland's aluminium smelters used roughly two thirds of all the electricity the country consumed.
3. Since January 2026 the EU's carbon border charge prices the emissions hidden inside imported steel, aluminium, fertiliser and hydrogen.

The journey

1. 1 Stranded energyIceland hydro, Gulf gas, remote sun
2. 2 Energy-hungry plantSmelter, iron plant, ammonia works, data centre
3. 3 ProductAluminium, iron briquettes, ammonia, computed results
4. 4 Ship or fibreBulk carriers, gas tankers, subsea cables
5. 5 ImporterGets the metal without building power plants

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