AL Circle x Norsk Hydro: Scrap, technology, and renewable energy drive our decarbonisation operations

In an exclusive conversation, Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen, Senior Vice President and Head of Sustainability at Hydro, underscored the company’s unwavering commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. He outlined clear interim goals of cutting emissions by 10 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030, based on 2018 levels. According to Mauritzen, Hydro is driving this transition through three main strategies - expanding post-consumer scrap recycling, advancing breakthrough technologies like carbon capture and zero-emission smelting, and accelerating the use of renewable energy while boosting efficiency. Dive into the full interview to explore his insights in detail.

AL Circle: Hydro has long positioned itself as a sustainability leader in the aluminium industry. Could you share your overarching vision for achieving net-zero emissions and how this translates into tangible actions across your global operations?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: At Hydro, our vision is to create a more viable society by developing natural resources into products and solutions in innovative and efficient ways. Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is central to this vision. We are also on track to reduce emissions from our own operations by 10 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030 from a 2018 baseline, enabled by our technological roadmap. 

We are decarbonising our operations through three main levers:

• Stepping up recycling of post-consumer scrap, digging deeper into the scrap pile
• Investing in breakthrough technologies like carbon capture and zero-emission smelting
• Increasing the use of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency throughout the value chain

One of the largest single projects that will help us accomplish our shorter-term goals is the fuel switch project at our Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil. Hydro has invested BRL 1.3 billion (USD 244.5 million) to transition from heavy fuel oil to natural gas and install three 60MW electric boilers, reducing annual CO₂ emissions from the refinery by approximately 1,100,000 tonnes. The project has now been in operation for a year.

One of the strengths of Hydro is our presence in the entire aluminium value chain, and the fuel switch at Alunorte benefits the whole aluminium production process from mine to metal. When alumina from Alunorte is produced with a lower footprint, it means that Hydro’s primary aluminium smelters like Albras in Brazil and the five smelters we have on west coast of Norway – producing aluminium with alumina from Alunorte – also reduce the carbon footprint of the products they produce.

Across our global operations, we are embedding climate targets into business decisions, from sourcing and production to product development and logistics, and by doing so we also aim to enable our customers to reduce their emissions through low-carbon and recycled aluminium products.

AL Circle: Hydro CIRCAL is regarded as a flagship example of circular economy in action. Could you explain what makes Hydro CIRCAL unique, and how it supports sustainability goals for end users?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: Hydro CIRCAL is one of the world’s lowest-carbon aluminium products, made with a minimum of 75 per cent post-consumer scrap (PCS), aluminium that has completed its useful life and is brought back into circulation. What sets Hydro CIRCAL apart is its high recycled content of post-consumer scrap, combined with traceability and transparency. Hydro CIRCAL is third-party certified by DNV and accompanied by an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), ensuring customers know exactly what they are getting. For end users, this means they can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of their products without compromising on quality or performance.

In recent years, Hydro has pushed the boundaries even further by producing Hydro CIRCAL using 100 per cent post-consumer scrap. This variant – Hydro CIRCAL 100R – achieves a carbon footprint below 0.5 kg CO₂e per kg aluminium, which is 97 per cent lower than the global average for primary aluminium. The first industrial-scale deliveries of Hydro CIRCAL 100R were made to the European building and construction market through Hydro’s WICONA brand, marking a major milestone in circular aluminium innovation.

Using 100 per cent PCS is made possible by Hydro’s proprietary sorting and delacquering technologies, which allow for the recovery and remelting of even the most challenging scrap types.

AL Circle: Renewable energy plays a pivotal role in reducing aluminium’s carbon footprint. How does Hydro ensure the use of renewable power across its smelting and extrusion operations, and what challenges have you faced in this journey?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: More than 70 per cent of the electricity used in Hydro’s aluminium production comes from renewable sources, primarily hydropower. In Norway, our portfolio of five aluminium smelters run on 100 per cent renewable energy, supported by Hydro’s ownership and operation of significant hydropower assets. We also secure long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Norway and in other regions to ensure stable, low-carbon energy supply.

The main challenge lies in securing affordable and reliable renewable energy in all operating regions, particularly as global demand for green power continues to rise. To address this, Hydro and our renewable energy subsidiary, Hydro Rein, are actively developing new renewable energy projects in key markets like Brazil and the Nordics.

In Brazil, Hydro Rein is together with partners advancing several large-scale wind and solar projects to supply clean energy to Hydro’s industrial operations. The projects will supply renewable power to Hydro’s Paragominas bauxite mine and Alunorte alumina refinery through long-term PPAs. These projects are critical to decarbonising Hydro’s upstream operations in Brazil and securing long-term energy resilience.

In the Nordics, Hydro is looking to upgrade its existing hydropower plants and exploring pumped storage opportunities, to increase capacity and manage volatility in the power market. These efforts are complemented by new wind development projects.

Together, these initiatives reflect Hydro’s commitment to securing renewable energy at scale, while building a more resilient and decarbonised aluminium value chain. By combining captive power, long-term PPAs, and strategic partnerships, we are not only reducing our own emissions but also helping to shape a more sustainable energy landscape for industry.

AL Circle: What investments is Hydro making in next-generation technologies such as zero-emission smelting or carbon capture to future-proof aluminium production? What are Hydro’s most ambitious sustainability goals between now and 2030, and how do you see the company’s role evolving in shaping a low-carbon aluminium economy?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: Hydro’s ambition is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 compared to 2018 levels. A cornerstone of this strategy is the fuel switch project at our Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil. We’ve invested BRL 1.3 billion to transition from heavy fuel oil to natural gas and install three 60MW electric boilers, which will reduce annual CO₂ emissions by approximately by approximately 1,100,000 tonnes. Alunorte is now the largest single consumer of natural gas in Brazil, and the switch has enabled full operation of steam boilers and calciners on natural gas, supported by a long-term LNG supply agreement.

This transition not only decarbonises upstream alumina production but also lowers the footprint of our downstream smelters, such as Albras in Brazil and our five Norwegian plants, which rely on Alunorte alumina. The project has also delivered operational gains in energy efficiency and process stability.

In parallel, we are pioneering HalZero, a proprietary zero-emission smelting technology that emits oxygen instead of carbon dioxide. The idea behind HalZero is to convert alumina into aluminium chloride before electrolysis, keeping chlorine and carbon in a closed loop. The technology and development are still in an early phase, but our technologists at our R&D lab in Porsgrunn, Norway, have successfully modelled and tested the process, and are now verifying it at test scale.

Carbon capture for our existing smelters is another critical pathway. We’ve evaluated over 50 CCS technologies and are piloting the most promising ones for industrial scale deployment. Our strategy includes both off-gas capture and direct air capture, tailored to the low CO2 concentration in aluminium smelter exhaust. Earlier this year, Hydro announced a partnership agreement with Rio Tinto with the aim of creating improved offerings of commercially viable carbon capture technologies from relevant suppliers.

As a global aluminium producer, we see our role as a catalyst – helping to decarbonise not just our own value chain but also enabling our customers to meet their climate targets.

AL Circle: Efficient scrap recycling is a cornerstone of circularity. Could you elaborate on Hydro’s role in increasing post-consumer scrap intake, and how this affects product quality and carbon metrics?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: Hydro is significantly expanding its recycling capacity across Europe and the United States, with a strong focus on post-consumer scrap (PCS) – aluminium that has already lived a full life as a product. Reusing PCS dramatically reduces the carbon footprint of new aluminium, requiring just 5 per cent of the energy needed to produce primary metal. Our advanced sorting and processing technologies, including proprietary LIBS-based alloy sorting and decoating systems, ensure that quality remains high even as we increase recycled content and dig deeper into the scrap pile to recover more of the aluminium the world needs. Digging deeper into the scrap pile is important to ensure full circularity of aluminium.

In the US, we opened our greenfield recycling plant in Cassopolis, Michigan in 2023, adding 120,000 tonnes of annual capacity, including 40,000 tonnes of PCS. We also launched a joint venture with Padnos to industrialise our HySort sorting technology, enabling upcycling of 20,000 tonnes of PCS annually. Additional expansions are underway in Cressona, Pennsylvania and Henderson, Kentucky, further strengthening our US footprint.

In Spain, we broke ground on a new flagship recycling plant in Torija, Spain, with an investment of EUR 180 million. When operational in 2026, it will add 120,000 tonnes of annual capacity, including up to 70,000 tonnes of PCS. Strategically located to serve Iberian industries, the Torija plant will complement our existing recycling facility in Azuqueca, bringing the combined capacity to over 200,000 tonnes of low-carbon, recycled aluminium.

These investments are part of Hydro’s broader ambition to reach 850,000–1.2 million tonnes of annual PCS capacity by 2030.

From a product perspective, our metallurgical R&D team has developed alloys specifically optimised for high PCS content. This enables us to produce premium-quality aluminium – such as Hydro CIRCAL, without compromising mechanical properties or surface finish. These innovations allow our customers to meet stringent sustainability goals while maintaining performance standards.

AL Circle: With the United States further exempting aluminium scrap from the 50 per cent import tariff, how do you think Europe will address the growing concern of scrap leakage? What measures do you anticipate to safeguard its recycling ecosystem?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: Scrap leakage is a real concern. Europe must act to retain valuable scrap within its borders to support its own circular economy goals. We anticipate stronger regulatory frameworks, such as export restrictions or incentives for domestic recycling, to emerge. Hydro supports policies that promote responsible scrap management and ensure that high-quality scrap is used where it delivers the most environmental benefit.

Hydro is also actively collaborating with policymakers across Europe and North America to help shape industrial policies that foster a competitive and sustainable aluminium sector. In all our key markets, we advocate for a level playing field, dependable access to competitively priced renewable energy, and targeted support for technological advancements – for example in areas like recycling.

At the same time, we are aligning our decarbonisation roadmap with evolving regulatory frameworks to ensure our investments are backed by coherent, forward-looking policies that enable long-term climate action.

AL Circle: How do you foresee the impact of the much-anticipated global supply-chain disruption due to the United States’ steep tariffs on aluminium? What strategies are you implementing to navigate and mitigate these disruptions as one of the world’s leading aluminium producers?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: Tariffs and trade tensions create uncertainty, and they reinforce the importance of regional supply chains and resilient sourcing strategies. Hydro is well-positioned with a diversified global footprint and strong local presence in key markets, like the US.

In the US, Hydro has around 6,000 employees at 28 plants within aluminium recycling and extrusions. Hydro does not export large volumes of aluminium into the US, and the tariffs introduced by the US have so far not had a material impact on our operations, as raw materials and finished products are purchased and sold in the US.

We are supporting free and fair trade, and one of our concerns has been the risk of an escalating trade war that would put weight on the global economy, leading to lower aluminium demand.

AL Circle: Lastly, what message would you like to convey to aluminium end users worldwide who are seeking to make more sustainable material choices?

Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen: Choose transparency. Ask your suppliers about the carbon footprint and recycled content of their aluminium. By choosing low-carbon aluminium like Hydro REDUXA, produced using renewable energy, or recycled and circular aluminium like Hydro CIRCAL, end users can make a real difference in reducing global emissions and driving the transition to a greener economy and a more viable society.