Novelis to Build $365 Million Recycling Center for Automotive

Novelis’ new recycling center will use a closed-loop system to directly reclaim aluminum scrap left over from automotive stamping operations and remelt it for new vehicle parts. The center will also be equipped with advanced shredding and sorting technology to process aluminum from vehicles scrapped at the end of their lifecycle.

Using recycled aluminum as input material requires only 5% of the energy used to make primary aluminum, thus avoiding 95% of the carbon emissions associated with production, Novelis said. With an annual casting capacity of 240,000 tons of sheet ingot, the company expects the new center to reduce its carbon emissions by more than one million tons per year.

“Through this investment, we will continue to increase the amount of recycled content in our products, reducing our CO2 emissions and moving us closer to carbon neutrality,” said Novelis President and CEO Steve Fisher.

In pursuit of their own environmental goals, automakers are planning to unveil scores of new electric vehicles in the next few years, heating up the competition between aluminum and advanced high-strength steels as the material of choice. They’ll look most favorably on suppliers who are willing to take the “green” journey with them – as Novelis is well aware.

“We are excited about this new investment in Kentucky, which will help Novelis achieve its sustainability goals, as well as support the carbon-reduction targets of our automotive customers,” said Tom Boney, Executive Vice President and President of Novelis North America.

By Tim Triplett, Tim@SteelMarketUpdate.com