Novelis breaks ground on a new $50 million recycling centre in South Korea to produce low-carbon sheet ingot

Novelis Incorporation, the world’s largest aluminium recycler and flat-rolled producer, broke ground on November 6 on a new $50 million recycling centre in South Korea. The project will be able to produce 100 thousand tonnes of low-carbon sheet ingot annually by recycling aluminium, resulting in reducing Novelis’ carbon emissions by more than 420,000 tonnes each year.

"As the world leader in sustainable, low-carbon rolled aluminum solutions, we are focused on accelerating the transition of the aluminum industry to a circular economy model through the increased use of recycled content in our products," said Sachin Satpute, President of Novelis Asia. "Doing so will reduce our carbon footprint – as well as that of our customers and industry as a whole – and lead us closer to realizing our 2050 goal for carbon neutrality." 

The recycling centre will be built by Ulsan Aluminium, a joint venture between Novelis and Kobe Steel.  Doo-Gyeom Kim, Ulsan Metropolitan City Mayor; Yeon-Chul Lee, Chairman, Ulsan Chamber of Commerce; and Nolan Barkhouse, Principal Officer of the US Consulate in Busan, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

The new facility is expected to come into operation in 2024, aiming to meet the long-term global demand for sustainable, low-carbon aluminium sheet for can, automotive and high-end specialty products. Also, it will boost Novelis’ recycling capacity by more than 20 per cent to 440,000 tonnes in Korea and enhance its capability to process different kinds of aluminium scrap.

This project is Novelis’ latest investment to increase its recycling capacity globally. Novelis recycles 82 billion used beverage cans a year, of which Yeongju Recycling Centre processes more than 18 billion each annually.