Hydro adds aluminum recycling capacity in Norway

Norway-based aluminum producer Norsk Hydro has started up a new recycling unit at its primary aluminum plant in Årdal, Norway, that will allow that facility to consume 25,000 metric tons annually of postconsumer aluminum scrap.

The company invested about 100 million Norwegian kroner ($9.2 million) in recycling technology at its cast house in Årdal.

“The demand for low-carbon aluminum is increasing, particularly in the automotive industry,” says Eivind Kallevik, executive vice president at Hydro. “Thanks to the cutting-edge technology and know-how utilized by our team in Årdal, customers can reduce the carbon footprint in their value chain and get closer to achieving their climate targets.”

The modified casting line in Årdal will mix primary aluminum, made with renewable hydropower, with up to 30 percent postconsumer aluminum scrap. The result is a record low-carbon footprint that helps some of the most advanced customers in Europe cut the embedded greenhouse gas emissions of their products, Hydro says.

The recycling unit in Årdal officially opened April 10. Hydro allows the Årdal facility to deliver Reduxa 3.0 aluminum, which it says has a carbon footprint that is approximately 80 percent lower than the world average.

“Low-carbon aluminum from Årdal is already an important part of Hydro’s strategic partnership with leading customers in our joint efforts to decarbonize,” Kallevik says. “With this upgrade and other long-term investments at the plant, Hydro Årdal is set to deliver low-carbon aluminum to the European market for decades to come.”

Hydro intends to become a net-zero producer of aluminum by 2050, saying it is on track to achieve a 30 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 compared with 2018 levels. “Aluminum recycling is one of the main pathways of Hydro’s decarbonization strategy,” the company says.