Constellium, one of the world's biggest aluminum suppliers, has a message for the auto industry that it's prepared to support the shift to electric vehicles with lighter-weight metal for vehicle production. But it's not enough to simply be lighter anymore, the aluminum industry recognizes. Automakers now want their supply chains to show how they will achieve carbon footprint reductions. Andreas Afseth, 51, technical director for Constellium's North American automotive sheet metal business, spoke with Senior Editor Lindsay Chappell about how it is innovating that effort. Here are edited excerpts.
Q: Constellium's rivals in the steel industry make a point of saying that aluminum production has a bigger carbon footprint than steel. How do you counter that?
A: When you produce primary aluminum, made from bauxite aluminum oxide through electrolysis, it consumes a lot of electricity. And your carbon footprint is linked to that electricity generation. But when you re…