On November 16, Hydro launched the Cassopolis facility in the United States, 18 months after construction. This marks the establishment of the company's third greenfield recycling plant inside the United States, with the notable distinction of being the first facility specifically engineered for the production of Hydro CIRCAL. The US$150 million Michigan factory will generate 120,000 metric tonnes of recycled aluminium annually. Hydro is now manufacturing aluminium in North America with the lowest carbon impact.
The recycling facility will repurpose more post-consumer aluminium waste into value-added products in the automotive, transportation, building and construction, and consumer durables industries. The factory will initially provide to non-automotive clients, but after qualification trials are completed, the automotive sector will get an increasing proportion of the extrusion ingot produced in Cassopolis.
"With the U.S. experiencing a manufacturing renaissance, this is a great day for Cassopolis, Michigan and for Hydro. This project is a key part of our strategy to double the production of our market leading recycled products and to bring more low-carbon aluminium to our American partners," said President and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim.
The Hydro CIRCAL product comprises a minimum of 75 per cent post-consumer aluminium scrap, verified by independent auditors from DNV GL. Furthermore, this product has a very competitive carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint of just 2.3 kg CO2e per kilogramme of aluminium or lower.
"The demand for sustainably produced aluminium has been growing rapidly within virtually all of our market segments, and among carmakers in particular, so we see this as a perfect time to introduce Hydro CIRCAL in larger volumes than before. And it is only the beginning," added Eivind Kallevik, Executive Vice President for Hydro Aluminium Metal.
Hydro has been providing Hydro CIRCAL to clients in the United States from its facilities in Commerce, Texas, and Henderson, Kentucky, to prepare Cassopolis output for the last year and a half.
“We have been in business for as long as Michigan has been making cars, and with manufacturers switching to electric vehicles, together with the growing demand for aluminium in other applications, we are excited about bringing our next generation recycling technology here in Michigan, to the U.S.,” added Aasheim.
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