Between strategy and diplomacy. A long run appraisal of alumina alternative technologies, 1900s-1970s

This article explores the history of the “alternative processes” to produce alumina, focusing on the long run and with an international approach. Used mainly as the mid-product between the ore and aluminium, alumina has historically attracted a wide interest from isolated scientists, firms, and governments. While the Bayer process to obtain alumina from bauxite has become the standard for aluminium industry since the early 20th century, several attempts were made since then to develop this industry on different basis. The alternative processes are various, and they can use either bauxite or non-bauxite sources. Yet the common thread of those researches was to enable specific competitive advantages in critical situations, in which the use of the Bayer process (and of bauxite as ore) found obstacles from the economic, monetary, and diplomatic point of view. On the one hand, this article highlights the importance of the commercial balance situation to enable researches and change the specific competitive advantages of each process. On the other hand, the history of alternative processes reveals the weight of the industrial diplomacy, used by firms and governments as a key factor to bargain a good access to best ores and to implement strategic policies on raw materials.