Hydro unveils flagship recycling technology

Hydro has officially opened a new EUR 86 million recycling unit at its Årdal primary aluminium plant in Norway.

The non-ferrous and renewable energy company says the upgraded casting line in Årdal will mix primary aluminium made with renewable hydropower with up to 30% post-consumer aluminium scrap.

Low carbon footprint

Årdal is now able to its branded Reduxa 3.0 aluminium with a carbon footprint of below 3.0 kg CO2e/kg of the metal. This is approximately 80% lower than the world average.

‘The demand for low-carbon aluminium is increasing, particularly in the automotive industry,’ says Eivind Kallevik, evp of Hydro Aluminium Metal.

‘Thanks to the cutting edge technology and know-how utilised by our team in Årdal, customers can reduce the carbon footprint in their value chain and get closer to achieving their climate targets.’

‘With this upgrade and other long-term investments at the plant, Hydro Årdal is set to deliver low-carbon aluminium to the European market for decades to come.’

Net-zero

Hydro aims to become a net-zero producer of aluminium by 2050 and is on track to achieve a 30% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2018 levels.

In addition to recycling post-consumer scrap, Hydro is working towards full decarbonisation by introducing carbon capture and storage, as well as developing a new electrolysis process with the potential to eliminate CO2 emissions from primary aluminium production.