Hydro and Nuvosil have commenced an industrial pilot project on new technology for recycling of aluminium and silicon that could reduce processing costs by up to 50% and energy consumption up to 90%. The recycling technology is supported by research and industrial partners SINTEF, NTNU, Cemtec (Austria) and Reifenhauser (Germany) in the Low Energy Recycling (LER) project.

“The core element of the technology is a unit for screw extrusion of metal materials. During the project the partners aim to build, test and qualify a commercial-scale version of the extruder, in addition to confirming scalability of other associated components and process steps,” Hydro said.

“We are very encouraged to kick off the industrialization of the Hydro laboratory screw-extruder technology, which has been tested in a range of R&D projects in close collaboration with NTNU in Trondheim,” said Trond Furu, Research Manager in Hydro’s Corporate Technology Office.

The technology is currently under development by the consortium partners Hydro and circular economy start-up Nuvosil. Enova, a Norwegian state-owned entity supporting advances in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, development of energy and climate friendly technology, provides the financial support with 9,4 MNOK.

“The technology greatly reduces energy consumption, and significantly increases the recycling rate. Enova believes that technology of this type is needed to reach the low-emission society and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” said Ståle Kvernrød, senior adviser in Enova.

The recycling technology is likely to be tested in one or more of Hydro’s plants in Norway, with production of Hydro CIRCAL, as one potential application area.