Hydro ramps up aluminium recycling plant in Azuqueca to grow Hydro CIRCAL production

Norsk Hydro has announced today, on July 8, that its aluminium recycling plant in Azuqueca, Spain is ramped-up and all set to start producing the sought-after recycled aluminium Hydro CIRCAL. Hydro says the project has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but delivered on budget and with zero injuries.

Hydro announced the news after receiving the certificate for production from independent risk management and quality assurance company DNV-GL on July 7, 2020.

Eivind Kallevik, Executive Vice President of Primary Metal in Hydro, commented: “Hydro CIRCAL has gotten a lot of traction in the market and this is an important step to meet the growing demand for low-carbon products. Getting Azuqueca’s production up and running is truly a combination of sustainability and profitability.”

By adding capacity, Hydro is expected to meet more demand for this low-carbon extrusion ingot in the building and construction industry.

For adding a new de-lacquering unit and melting furnace in the plant in order to process more post-consumer scrap and produce Hydro CIRCAL, Hydro has invested €10 million.  Hydro CIRCAL is a range of aluminium products made with a minimum of 75 per cent recycled, post-consumer scrap.

“We are very pleased that we are able to ramp up our capacity, especially during these challenging times we all have experienced. This is a great recognition of the work being done by the team at Azuqueca and the support from our colleagues in the Primary Metal organization,” says Ramón Gonzalez, plant manager at Azuqueca.  

At Azuqueca, the annual production of Hydro CIRCAL is now expected to be around 20,000 tonnes.