Norsk Hydro invests in e-mobility recycling

Norsk Hydro is installing an automotive extrusion press at its Szekesfehervar recycling facility in Hungary. The first output is planned for 2025, to be sourced from a site under construction.

Hydro says its Szekesfehervar plant is the biggest extrusion hub of its kind in Europe, handling 60 000 tonnes of material per year. The facility creates automotive parts for original equipment manufacturers, including crash management systems, structural body parts and battery housings.

Given the rise of e-mobility, Hydro is confident recyclers will have an important role to play in securing the necessary production feedstock. It says the new press will be a copy of the existing P60/12-inch press line, upgraded to the ‘most advanced and efficient technologies’ on the market to minimise the carbon footprint of the process.

This news follows the announcement that Hydro is building a EUR 88 million aluminium recycling plant next to the site in Szekesfehervar. The new site will have an even greater processing capacity of 90 000 tonnes per year and is expected to start production at the start of 2024. The plant will create 80 new jobs.