Apple to buy first large batch of carbon-free aluminum for iPhone SE

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Details about the size or cost of the purchase were not disclosed.

The iPhone maker has been taking steps to reduce its use of the carbon-intensive metal that emits direct greenhouse gases from the smelting process and has spiked consumer, activist and investor dissent due to its environmental impact.

Apple first bought a smaller batch of the lab-made metal in 2019 from Elysis, a Montreal-based joint venture between two of the world’s biggest aluminum suppliers – Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Corp and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO). It had used the metal in its 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Elysis had originally planned to commercialize its technology, which uses a ceramic anode to make aluminum and emits only oxygen, by 2024.