Spurred by the global need for climate-positive solutions, pioneering technologies are maximising the potential of this durable and extensively usable - and reusable - material.
Aluminium is lightweight, durable, and infinitely recyclable. These qualities have made it an integral part of our everyday lives, from the automobiles we drive to the buildings we live in.
It is these very same qualities that make aluminium a critical material in many of the technologies driving the green transition. Today, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company Hydro is leading the charge with its roadmap to net-zero emissions. With a focus on reducing the environmental impact along its entire value chain, Hydro is committed to creating a material that is not only enabling the world’s journey to net zero, but is net zero itself.
Aluminium’s green advantage
Wind turbines and solar panels depend on aluminium for their component parts and frames due to its strength, light weight, and corrosion resistance. Similarly, electric vehicles rely on aluminium for structural integrity, while its high conductivity-to-weight ratio also makes it ideal for use in rechargeable batteries and power lines, enabling efficient energy storage and transmission.
When recycled, aluminium maintains all of its original properties and the process requires 95 percent less energy than primary production. This makes it an ideal material in a circular economy, which reimagines existing production ecosystems to eliminate waste and dramatically reduce depletion of the earth’s resources.
Not all recycled aluminium is the same
Remarkably, around 75 percent of all the aluminium ever produced is still in use today. Remelting uses far less energy than primary production, and only around 3 percent of the material is lost in the process. But recycling post-consumer scrap comes with challenges, such as identifying the alloys and properties of the metal purchased and ensuring the quality is preserved.
With advanced, patented sorting technology, Hydro remelts post-consumer scrap into vehicle parts, designer furniture, consumer electronics, and building facades. Its recycled aluminium products are recognised as industry leading, with carbon footprints about one-fourth that of the industry average. Contributing even further to reducing global emissions, its Hydro CIRCAL recycled aluminium brand is made with a minimum share of 75 percent post-consumer scrap, while its flagship variant, Hydro CIRCAL 100R, is made entirely from post-consumer scrap.
“Recycling more aluminium just makes sense. It’s one of the smartest ways to combine industrial growth with efficient use of resources. With advanced sorting technology, we can fine-tune the chemistry to make recycled materials match primary aluminium in both quality and performance – with only a fraction of the emissions and no mining required,” says Eivind Kallevik, President and CEO of Hydro.
Reducing the impact of primary production
Where new, primary aluminium is still required, Hydro is working to reduce environmental impact and carbon emissions across the value chain, from bauxite mining (where alumina is extracted) and alumina refining to the smelting of primary aluminium.
In its Paragominas bauxite mine in Brazil, for example, Hydro is working to rehabilitate the natural environment by replacing topsoil, replanting, and recreating an environment for animal habitats.
Over in Norway at Hydro’s Karmøy plant, meanwhile, renewable energy from water and wind - sourced from its own hydropower plants in nearby Røldal-Suldal - create a virtually self-sufficient operation for producing low-carbon aluminium.
And production processes are being radically reimagined, too. Hydro’s pioneering technology, HalZero, is working to decarbonise the smelting process by converting alumina to aluminium chloride prior to electrolysis. Chlorine and carbon are kept in a closed loop, therefore eliminating emissions of CO2 and emitting oxygen instead.
“We’re investing heavily in technology and infrastructure to cut emissions towards zero. The challenge isn’t producing low-carbon aluminium – it’s capturing value so decarbonisation becomes profitable. The green transition will only succeed if every step of the value chain can sustain itself commercially,” says Kallevik.
Scaling together
To expedite the journey to net zero, collaboration is key. As an example, Hydro is partnering with Mercedes-Benz, where both companies have agreed to a common low-carbon technology roadmap towards 2030.
The two are also coming together with Brazilian NGOs and other organisations to foster more sustainable development in the Amazon. Their long-term Corridor Program, launched in 2024, is focused on protecting human rights, generating income for local communities, restoring nature, and developing low-carbon value chains in the region.
Through ambitious innovation, recycling efforts, and collaboration, Hydro is demonstrating just how pivotal low-carbon aluminium is in the world’s journey towards a net-zero future.
Find out more here.
