Rio Tinto has completed an industrial trial with Prysmian to produce low‑carbon aluminium rod for power cables, blending metal from its hydro-powered Alma smelter in Quebec with ELYSIS inert-anode technology that eliminates direct smelting greenhouse gas emissions and generates oxygen. The trial sits within a five-year supply agreement signed in October 2023 to roll out lower‑carbon aluminium cable solutions for energy transmission and data centres. CRU forecasts data centres will grow from about 7% of North American cable demand in 2025 at roughly 17% CAGR to 2030, with aluminium gaining share for campus power distribution.

Hydrogen has been used by Heidelberg Materials UK to decarbonise asphalt production on an industrial scale for the first time in the UK, replacing conventional fossil fuel combustion in the drying and heating phase of the mixing process. The trial, conducted in a full-scale asphalt plant rather than a laboratory rig, demonstrates that hydrogen burners can maintain production temperatures and binder performance within standard specification limits. For pavement designers and contractors, this signals emerging scope to cut Scope 1 emissions from asphalt plants without changing mix designs or laying procedures.

Brick and block producer Forterra delivered 2025 revenue of £386.0m, up 12.1% year-on-year, with adjusted profit before tax rising 62.9% to £36.0m despite muted aircrete and aggregate block despatches and an 8% fall in UK domestic brick despatches in January 2026 versus January 2025. Output gains came from both kilns at the Desford brick factory running simultaneously for the first time and near-complete redevelopment of the Wilnecote plant, plus strong demand for Bison precast concrete flooring. Statutory results absorbed £6.7m of restructuring costs from closing the Formpave and Bison Bespoke Precast divisions, while Forterra launched its Omnia extruded brick slip range at Accrington.