Pre-1886
Precious metal
Electrochemical isolation without cheap electricity kept aluminium a showcase metal.
Milestones in order. This is history, not a weekly activity grid.
- Ørsted / Wöhler isolation
- Deville process
- Hall–Héroult
- Bayer process
- Wilm duralumin
- Aviation sheet
- Aluminium beverage can
- 6000-series extrusions
- Auto BIW trials
- High-recycled can sheet
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Strength62
Heat resistance48
Fire performance70
Insulation12
Workability90
Circularity72
LessMore
Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Aluminium or aluminum?
Same metal. IUPAC aluminium; US spelling aluminum. Specs use either.
Why is it light but not “weak”?
Specific strength of 7075 can beat mild steel; stiffness per volume still loses to steel.
Does it burn?
Bulk metal melts in fire; powders and some façade cores are the combustible stories.
Is it a good insulator?
No. It is a heat spreader. Foil radiant barriers reflect radiation; they are not bulk λ insulation.
Why do cans recycle so well?
Single alloy family, magnetic-free sort, huge volume, remelt energy is low.
Can I weld 7075?
Generally a bad idea for strength; designers rivet, bond or use 2000/5000 weldables instead.
heat 48 · fire 70
Aluminium did not arrive as a finished commodity. Hall–Héroult 1886 around USA / France still explains who makes it and which tests it sits in.
Ten dated points, five eras and three milestones below are the spine — not a complete industrial history.
Where it began
Hall–Héroult 1886USA / France
Timeline
1825Ørsted / Wöhler isolation
Tiny samples of aluminium were scientific curiosities, costlier than gold in display culture.
1854Deville process
Henri Sainte-Claire Deville made aluminium a luxury metal for Napoleon III’s tableware lore.
1886Hall–Héroult
Independent US and French patents electrolysed alumina in cryolite — still the core cell chemistry.
1888Bayer process
Karl Bayer digested bauxite to pure alumina, feeding the cells.
1906Wilm duralumin
Age-hardening Al–Cu alloys made airframes think in aluminium, not wood and fabric only.
1919–1939Aviation sheet
Duralumin skins and spars defined interwar and WWII airframes.
1959Aluminium beverage can
Coors and later two-piece DWI cans created a closed-loop scrap stream.
1970s6000-series extrusions
Al–Mg–Si extrusions became architecture’s default curtain-wall metal.
1990sAuto BIW trials
Audi Space Frame and others proved aluminium bodies at a cost premium.
2010s–High-recycled can sheet
Used-beverage-can loops in some regions exceed 70% recycled content.
The eras
1886–1945
Cell and airframe
Hall–Héroult plus duralumin put aluminium into aircraft and power lines.
1945–1970
Consumer metal
Pots, foil and early cans; hydroelectric smelters clustered on cheap power.
1970–2000
Extrusion architecture
6000-series profiles remade façades and window walls.
2000–now
Light vehicles and recycling
EV battery enclosures and high-scrap can sheet dominate the sustainability story.
Milestones
Hall–Héroult 1886
1888Electrolysis made aluminium an industrial metal.
Duralumin 1906
1959Precipitation hardening unlocked aircraft structure.
UBC loop
2010s–Beverage cans became a textbook closed-loop aluminium product.
Knowing this timeline is how to read a mill certificate without treating Aluminium as timeless.
Keep exploring
More in Metals
🔩
Steel
The iron–carbon workhorse of buildings, ships, rails and tools — endlessly recast.
Overall 66 ✈️Titanium
High specific strength and chloride-tolerant films — airframes, implants and seawater.
Overall 58 🔶Copper
The first industrial conductor — wiring, heat exchangers, roofs that go green.
Overall 57 🍴Stainless steel
Chromium passive films that keep kitchens, chemical plant and façades from rusting like carbon steel.
Overall 64