HYDRO COMMERCE, FIRST PLANT IN USA. TO PRODUCE HYDRO CIRCAL

Hydro Commerce is the first plant in the USA. certified by DNV to produce Hydro Circal, a low-carbon recycled aluminum product containing at least 75% post-consumer scrap at the end of its useful life.

In this regard, Trond Gjellesvik, president of Hydro Aluminum Metal, North America highlights that “with the shift of automakers to electric vehicles, combined with the growing need for aluminum, we see this as an opportunity to bring production to scale. We help forward-thinking customers achieve their climate ambitions by supplying products with a lower carbon footprint that promote a more circular economy.”

Hydro is also positioning itself to become the leading producer of low-carbon recycled aluminum in North America. Recycling aluminum scrap requires only 5% of the energy used to produce primary aluminum, saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hydro has set itself the strategic objective of doubling its post-consumer scrap recycling by 2025″.

“We are seeing interest from several aluminum extrusion companies and major OEMs and look forward to partnering with them to further expand production of automotive products with Hydro Circal in Commerce. This is a great recognition of the work done by the Commerce and North American team,” says Dan Luckett, Hydro Commerce plant manager.

Hydro Circal de Commerce’s initial annual production is expected to be about 4,000 tons. Upon completion of the Cassopolis plant, Hydro will have the capacity to produce more than one million metric tons of recycled aluminum extrusion ingot each year in the United States, further strengthening its position as the largest aluminum extrusion ingot producer in North America.

Hydro has been involved in recycling in the United States for several decades, starting with its plants in Henderson (Kentucky) and Commerce (Texas). In April, Hydro took the next step on this path with the start of construction of its state-of-the-art aluminum recycling plant in Cassopolis, Michigan. Production will start in 2023 with about 70 employees. The plant, when fully operational, will produce 120,000 metric tons of recycled aluminum ingots for extrusion per year.