Demonstrating Hydro’s capabilities in low-carbon aluminium
“This is an important stepping-stone to commercialise near-zero carbon aluminium and is also a good test of our capabilities to produce recycled aluminium in other locations based on a similar scrap mix,“ says Trond Olaf Christophersen, Head of Recycling in Hydro Aluminium Metal.
This production milestone is a significant improvement, compared with the current 2.3 kg CO2/kg aluminium in Hydro CIRCAL extrusion ingot with 75% post-consumer aluminium scrap.
“We are very happy to have used 100% post-consumer aluminium scrap to produce the first 130 tonnes of Hydro CIRCAL 100R, and look forward to optimising our production further. The main challenge with using 100% scrap is to meet the needed composition. This was achieved by using a mixture of scrap qualities in a precise way,” says Ludovic Dardinier, Plant Manager at Hydro Clervaux.
Hydro’s 2025 strategy aims to strengthen Hydro’s position in low-carbon aluminium by investing in recycling. Hydro has set a strategic ambition to double its recycling of post-consumer scrap (PCS) and to increase annual recycling EBITDA by a range of NOK 0.7 to 1.1 billion by 2025.
The use of post-consumer scrap significantly reduces the CO2 footprint compared to pre-consumer/process scrap as well as primary aluminium.
Hydro is discussing with interested customers the first potential commercial applications of this ultra-low-carbon product.
“With ever-increasing consumer awareness of the importance of how the material in the items they purchase is produced, Hydro’s unique ability to deliver CIRCAL 100R provides our customers a responsibly-sourced and manufactured material, available for a number of applications, to meet this demand,” says Christophersen.
Source: Aluminium International Today
