Hydro’s Alumetal to meet 15 percent of its energy demands through solar

Norwegian aluminum producer Hydro says its Alumetal recycling plant in Kety, Poland, will increase its use of renewable energy by installing solar panels that will generate 1,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity each year. The panels are expected to begin operating in the second quarter of 2025.

The 870,000-euro, or $910,232, investment, which also includes modernization of the plant’s main security and electrical energy measurement system, will help the plant switch parts of its energy supply to local, self-generated renewable energy. The project aligns with Hydro’s decarbonization road map and commitment to a 30 percent reduction in its carbon emissions by 2030. Hydro has a goal to achieve net zero in Scopes 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2050.

“Power is an important input factor for the aluminium industry, and switching to renewable energy is critical to decarbonize our value chain,” says Hanne Simensen, executive vice president of Hydro Aluminum Metal. “Even if aluminum recycling only requires 5 percent of the energy used to produce primary metal in a smelter, every step matters to get to net zero. The solar panels in Kety are yet another step in the right direction.”

Hydro says the 1,000 MWh of electricity produced from renewable solar energy will meet 15 percent of the plant’s annual electricity needs, which is enough to power around 100 average European households for a year.

When the plant does not use all the electricity produced, the extra energy will flow into the local power grid for nearby homes and businesses to use.

Alumetal CEO Agnieszka Drzyżdżyk says, “The solar panels at Kety are another important milestone for Alumetal and a key step in our decarbonization journey. The use of local, on-site energy production will increase energy efficiency, improve circularity at our plant and lower the carbon footprint of the final, recycled aluminum product we deliver to our customers.”

Hydro acquired Alumetal in 2023, significantly strengthening its aluminum recycling position in Europe and widening its product offering in the low-carbon and scrap-based foundry alloy market. Alumetal’s four recycling plants, three in Poland and one in Hungary, have a total capacity of 280,000 metric tons per year and primarily serves the automotive sector.

The new solar panels come on top of recent investments and sustainability efforts made in Alumetal.

The company invested 200 million Norwegian kroner ($17.9 million) in a modernization project at the Kety plant that will increase capacity by approximately 30,000 metric tons and provide safety and operational efficiency improvement once its completed first half of next year.

In November, Alumetal completed an environmental product declaration to document the environmental footprint of its recycled foundry alloy aluminum products.