They call the stuff aluminium in Britain and other places. It keeps the -ium ending common to many other elements. But here in the States it’s aluminum and it is one of the pillars of our economy.

Vaclav Smil says that modern civilization rests on four materials: cement, steel, plastics, and ammonia. It’s hard to argue with that.

The materials that take the most total energy to produce in this country are paper, gasoline, steel, and ethylene. But on a mass-basis, it’s aluminum. Per pound or per kilogram, aluminum is the most energy-intensive stuff produced in large quantities in the US.

It’s chemistry, man. Aluminum is very abundant but it likes to combine with other elements (particularly oxygen) a little too much. Pure aluminum metal oxidizes immediately on contact with air. (That provides a protective layer and keeps it from corroding.) Aluminum ore is called bauxite and it contains alumina or aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃). This stuff is the devil to take apart. It took modern electrolysis to make it practical. About one-fourth of the cost of aluminum is the electricity needed to separate the metal.

In Napoleon’s time aluminum was worth more than gold. Today’s spot price has aluminum at $1.13 per pound (about 32 12-oz. cans)! That’s only possible because of cheap and abundant energy. We don’t produce much in the way of primary aluminum in this country. China is the leader, with India, Russia, and Canada significant if small producers. But we consume a lot of aluminum—about 35 kg (77 lbs.) per capita annually.