Hydro’s 2030 recycling goals inspire it to build a new aluminium scrap sorting facility in UK

Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, has reportedly planned to invest NOK 180 million in developing a state-of-the-art aluminium scrap sorting facility at its recycling plant in Wrexham, UK. 

As per the report, the facility will be able to source and sort over 30,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap and will be built next to Hydro’s aluminium extrusion ingot recycling plant.

Barry Salisbury, Hydro’s plant manager in Wrexham, said: “This new facility enables us to optimally sort a large variety of post-consumer scrap grades that are mainly exported out of the UK today, before continuing to the next step of the recycling process. This is an essential improvement in material flow that allows us to meet the increasing demand for low-carbon aluminium that we see particularly within the automotive, transport, and building and construction segments.”

Sourcing and sorting 30,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap annually would be enough for more than 100,000 units of electric vehicles. 

Hydro’s new aluminium scrap sorting facility will add sustainability value to the industrial landscape, given that post-consumer aluminium scrap significantly reduces carbon footprint compared to primary aluminium and so-called pre-consumer or process scrap. 

This facility is also one of those several investments of Hydro to reach its recycling goals by 2030. 

Ingrid Guddal, Head of Recycling in Hydro Aluminium Metal, said: “In Hydro we are always looking for opportunities to reach our recycling ambitions. Our recycling plant in Wrexham is already an essential producer of high-quality aluminium in the UK market. With the increasing interest from European customers to buy low-carbon aluminium, this sorting facility is a logical next step in optimizing our recycling processes by using a wider range of post-consumer aluminium scrap.”

Construction of this sorting facility will start in the autumn of 2024 and is expected to become operational by January 2026, creating 16 new local jobs.