Hydro initiates expansion of aluminium recycling plant in Germany to produce 25,000 tonnes of HyForge billet

On Friday, July 8, Hydro announced that it broke ground this week to mark the start of the expansion work of its aluminium recycling plant in Rackwitz, Germany. The project will require around EUR 40 million of investment to produce 25,000 tonnes of HyForge per year, increasing the use of post-consumer, end of life scrap.           

Eivind Kallevik, Executive Vice President for Hydro Aluminium Metal, said: “With more automotive customers putting emphasis on sustainability, we are taking this break through step at Rackwitz to produce aluminium HyForge products, resulting in even smaller diameter billets, while ensuring a best-in-class climate footprint by using a high share of post-consumer scrap in the process."

He added, "The business case shows that it is not only profitable, but it also has an important sustainability dimension, and it brings us closer to reaching our ambitious recycling targets.”

This expansion will enable Hydro to reach its target of doubling the use of post-consumer aluminium scrap by 2025, from around 250,000 tonnes to over 500,000 tonnes per year. It will also help the company achieve higher annual recycling EBITDA by a range of NOK 0.7 to 1.1 billion by 2025.

The new facility is likely to become operational by the end of 1Q2023, with 20 new employees. The plant currently produces around 95,000 tonnes of extrusion ingot per year, but post the expansion, the facility will manufacture an additional 25,000 tonnes of HyForge.

“We have a strong collaboration and partnership with the automotive industry, and with the introduction of HyForge, our position as a preferred partner will only get stronger. Our Rackwitz plant is located close to Hydro’s key automotive customers and scrap sources. Together with the HyForge product this is an ideal fit when it comes to the high quality standards and rapidly increasing focus on sustainability in the automotive industry,” said Thomas Stuerzebecher, Managing Director, Hydro Aluminium Metal Rackwitz.

Once operational, the new facility will enable Hydro to offer the full forge stock diameter portfolio from large to small, including scrap conversion. Forge stock is an aluminium billet with smaller diameter than a traditional billet. The products will have below 4kg of CO2 per kilo aluminium, less than 25 per cent of the global average for primary aluminium.