The United States government’s decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on aluminum imports from Canada has raised serious concerns about potential job losses in the aluminum industry.

Keena Trowell, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is reimagining aluminum’s role not just as a manufacturing material but as a clean energy storage medium and fuel.

Aluminum is safe and stable, and Canada already has a robust infrastructure for making and transporting it. Trowell says this positions the country to both meet its own energy needs with hydro, solar and geothermal power and export surplus energy.

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