Defining aluminium as a strategic material for national security

Image courtesy ALFED

The UK Government’s recent announcement to prioritise domestic suppliers across steel, shipbuilding, AI and energy infrastructure for national security procurement is both welcome and necessary. It signals a clear shift towards strengthening sovereign capability, building resilient supply chains and recognising that industrial capacity is fundamental to national security. 

However, within this announcement sits a notable and concerning omission. Aluminium is not mentioned. At a time when the UK is actively seeking to strengthen its defence industry and reduce reliance on overseas supply chains, this absence is increasingly difficult to justify. 

The omission of aluminium is not a minor oversight, it represents a fundamental gap in how we are defining strategic materials in the context of national security. Aluminium is not a peripheral material. It is a foundational one. Its unique combination of light weight, strength, corrosion resistance and recyclability makes it indispensable across defence, transport, energy and advanced manufacturing. 

Nowhere is this more evident than in shipbuilding, one of the sectors highlighted in the Government’s announcement. Modern vessels increasingly rely on aluminium to improve efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance. This is already happening in the UK, with companies such as OCEA demonstrating how aluminium is central to next-generation maritime capability. If shipbuilding is considered critical to national security, then the materials that enable it must also be treated as strategically important. Tony Graham, Chair of OCEA Shipbuilding UK Ltd, said: “The Aluminium Federation (ALFED) are right to alert our politicians and public to the critical importance of aluminium to defence, economic modernisation and national resilience. 

"All aspects of our national strength are built upon the superiority of aluminium performance, from everyday things like packaging and civil transport systems, to just-in-case things like military platforms and weapons. In the national resilience alphabet it has to be the first and most important critical material on any nation’s list – aluminium. Our access to this vital lightweight material should weigh heavy on all our minds.”

This perspective reinforces a growing consensus across industry: aluminium is not just relevant to national security, it is central to it. The UK’s current position also sits increasingly at odds with its international counterparts. In the United States, aluminium is formally recognised as a strategic and critical material. It was designated as a ‘critical mineral’ by the Department of the Interior in 2022 and remains included in subsequent critical materials lists, including the 2025 update. This classification reflects a clear understanding of aluminium’s importance to defence, infrastructure and industrial resilience. Similarly, the European Union has moved decisively in recognising aluminium’s strategic significance. 

At ALFED, we have been working closely with industry and defence stakeholders to better understand aluminium’s role in national security. Our recent Defence Report makes this position unequivocally clear: aluminium is identified as a NATO critical material and ranked as number one in terms of strategic importance. This reflects its central role in enabling military mobility, lightweight transport systems, secure infrastructure and the technologies required for both defence and the energy transition.

Yet despite this, aluminium does not yet feature prominently in UK policy discussions around national security procurement.

This points to a broader strategic blind spot. While the Government is right to focus on strengthening domestic supply chains and reducing reliance on overseas sourcing, aluminium remains one of the most globally exposed and energy-intensive supply chains in the world. Without a clear domestic strategy, the UK risks continued dependence on international markets for a material that underpins its defence, infrastructure and energy systems.

This is not simply a matter of recognition; it is a matter of alignment. If the UK is serious about building a resilient, future-proof defence and industrial base, then its policies must reflect the full reality of the materials that underpin modern systems. Steel will always have a vital role to play but it cannot be viewed in isolation. Aluminium is equally critical and in many applications, it is irreplaceable.

There is, however, a clear opportunity. The UK has a strong and capable aluminium sector, with expertise spanning production, processing, recycling, finishing and distribution. It also has the potential to lead in low-carbon aluminium, aligning industrial growth with net zero ambitions. What is needed now is a policy framework that recognises and supports this capability, one that embeds aluminium into national security thinking, procurement strategies and long-term industrial planning.

The Government’s announcement is an important step forward but it must now go further. Recognising aluminium as a strategic material would not only strengthen the UK’s national security position, it would also unlock investment, drive innovation and ensure that the country remains competitive in an increasingly complex global landscape.

At ALFED, we have set out the evidence and recommendations in our Defence Report and I would strongly encourage policymakers and industry leaders to engage with it: https://alfed.org.uk/alfed-defence-report

National security today is not defined solely by defence budgets or military capability. It is defined by the strength of our supply chains, the resilience of our industries and the materials that make modern infrastructure possible. Steel has rightly been given a seat at the table and now it is time for aluminium to be recognised alongside it.