Scepter Group to supply Novelis with 200,000 tonnes of low carbon aluminium rolling slab

The Scepter Group, a recognized leader in aluminum dross and scrap recycling, announced on Wednesday, September 15, that it signed a multi-year agreement with rolled products major Novelis to supply more than 200,000 tonnes of low carbon rolling slab with up to 95 per cent recycled content.

The Scepter Group will produce the slab ingot at its facility at Waverly plant and supply to Novelis’ rolling mill in Oswego, New York, and its Logan Aluminum joint venture mill in Russellville, Kentucky. The latter will then roll and finish the ingot for its customers who manufacture aluminium beverage cans and food containers in the US, said Scepter CEO Gamey Scott in an interview with Platts.

Scepter produces a wide range of recycled products at facilities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Since 1991, the company is producing rolling ingot from recycled scrap at its Waverly, Tennessee, plant.

Scott also said that the types of alloys production could vary, which could be used for other products such as automotive sheets where there is also pressure to meet carbon reduction goals.

 "It builds on our existing business we've had with Novelis and certainly secures more for the future," he added.

This agreement is expected to result in a carbon reduction of 1.2 million tonnes compared with the use of prime-based sheet ingot, supporting both companies’ sustainability objectives, said Scepter.

In April 2021, Novelis announced its goal to become net carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner and reduce its carbon footprint by 30 per cent by 2026.

Demand for aluminium slab has been growing over the year because of rising premiums of primary aluminum. Difficulties in sourcing and shipping scrap coupled with limited hot mill capacity in the US also contributed to the increasing demand for slab. The United States imports of rolling slab/sheet ingot grew 92.7 per cent year to date till July 2021, with most of that coming from Canada, Census Bureau data showed.