Plans to revolutionize the UK aluminum supply chain have been backed by a £3.4 million grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).
The grant will go towards APC collaborative research and development and will provide support for an innovative research project aimed at creating the requirements for a world-class metals processing facility, led by sustainable materials company EMR.
The planned facility will be able to produce aluminum extrusion ingots with less embodied carbon. This material can then be used to manufacture a variety of new metal parts. The facility will also use post-consumer metals, replacing conventional supply based on primary metals and significantly reducing emissions.
Led by EMR, the project brings together key players in the supply chain, aluminum fabricator and Tier 1 automotive supplier Constellium, Brunel University London’s BCAST academic center of excellence in metals, multidisciplinary surface treatment expert BCW Treatments, and digital integration and rapid life cycle assessment (LCA) specialists Riskoa, with Stellantis, the multinational automotive manufacturer, as the technical advisory group leader on the project.
Along with EMR, Constellium plays a central role in the consortium, leveraging its vast experience in aluminum alloy development, which is crucial to the success of the project, with Constellium’s significant contributions in research and development being instrumental in delivering the high-quality recycled aluminum products that the project will produce.
EMR claims that the project will enable the creation of components made from up to 100% recycled aluminum on an industrial scale, which, for the first time, will match the mechanical and durability performance of primary aluminum.
End-of-life aluminum will be processed within the consortium to provide a range of high-strength, impurity-tolerant ingots for the manufacture of automotive structural components, designed to meet or exceed the same quality and performance standards as those produced from primary materials and validated through rigorous qualification protocols established by OEM partners.
ReCircAl brings together EMR’s knowledge and experience in industrial end-of-life aluminum processing, with Constellium and Brunel University London’s expertise in alloy development, to deliver the lowest embodied carbon aluminum ingots ever produced and set a new industry benchmark.
ReCircAl supports the development of metals circularity through the use of end-of-life aluminum and its potential to become a net zero carbon resource for the manufacture of automotive components, playing a key role in the transition of UK and European vehicle fleets towards electrification.
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