Many people touch aluminium every single day: when opening a can, cooking with foil, driving a car or even plugging in a laptop. But few realise the huge amount of energy required to produce it.

Artificial intelligence may feel weightless in the sense that, in just a few clicks and an image appears, but the energy behind it tells a different story.

While wealthy nations are pouring billions into solar, wind, and green hydrogen, many less industrialised countries already generate the majority of their electricity from renewable sources.

Europe is now home to the highest residential electricity costs in the world, averaging around USD 0.245 per kilowatt-hour between 2023 and 2025.