The recycling plant will initially process 15,000 tonnes of post-consumer scrap annually, increasing over the years to come in line with the growing customer demand for recycled, post-consumer aluminium.

“Our most ambitious customers in key industries like the automotive industry are pushing demand for low-carbon and recycled aluminium upwards. To serve this growing market and strengthen Hydro’s position as the leading provider of low-carbon and recycled aluminium solutions in Europe, we are set to grow our capacity for aluminium recycling towards 2030. This plant will strengthen Hydro’s capacity to provide our customers with advanced components in recycled aluminium,” says President and CEO Eivind Kallevik.

The new aluminium recycling plant is built next to Hydro’s aluminium extrusion plant in Szekesfehervar, which is the most advanced of its kind in Europe, with six presses and extensive fabrication and surface treatment capabilities.

The extrusion plant mainly serves customers in the automotive industry with advanced aluminium components. The production scrap, that is a natural part of the extrusion and fabrication processes, will onwards go right back into the melting furnace in the new recycling plant. A few days later, the re-created aluminium is extruded into new car parts.

“Our customers are not only asking for recycled and low-carbon aluminium. They also need us to recycle their process scrap, so we can create closed loops. With our new and modern recycling facility in Hungary, we are now able to offer that,” says Paul Warton, Executive Vice President of Hydro Extrusions.

“The project team has worked extremely hard since we announced the investment decision in December 2021. They have kept the highest quality and safety standards, so they should be proud,” says Warton.

The Szekesfehervar extrusion plant is also building a new extrusion press for automotive products which is planned to start production in 2025.

Aluminium can be recycled over and over again, without losing its inherent properties. This is why it’s called a permanent material. With the new recycling plant up and running, Hydro’s recycling network now counts 34 facilities in Europe, North and South America, with a capacity of more than 2.3 million tonnes of aluminium annually.

In Spain, Hydro is planning to build a greenfield aluminium recycling plant which will add another 120,000 tonnes capacity to the recycling network and the ability to recycle up to 70,000 tonnes post-consumer aluminium scrap.