The agreement has been signed with a subsidiary of the Pulsar Properties Group. The total project investment is currently estimated to be between EUR 130-140 million, depending on the final facility design, market conditions and macroeconomic development. Hydro aims to make a final investment decision by the end of 2023.

“The European and Iberian market for aluminium continues to grow. This investment will be an important step towards Hydro's ambition to recycle more post-consumer aluminium, strengthening our position to capture value from growing demand for greener and circular aluminium,” says Eivind Kallevik, Executive Vice President for Hydro Aluminium Metal.

Keeping more scrap in Europe

Aluminium is well suited for electric vehicle components, renewable energy installations and energy efficient building systems because of its unique properties such as light weight and infinite recyclability without loss in quality.

“Since aluminium is infinitely recyclable, keeping post-consumer scrap in the loop is crucial, as recycling requires 95 percent less energy than primary production. Increased recycling of post-consumer scrap is an opportunity for Europe to secure domestic access to aluminium, which is a strategic issue in view of multiple crises facing Europe,” says Kallevik. 

The demand for aluminium towards 2030 in Hydro’s main markets is set to grow at around 3 percent per year, and low-carbon aluminium demand is expected to outpace the rest of the market. However, every year, around 1 million tonnes of used aluminium scrap leaves Europe.

“Thanks to our state-of-the-art technology and competent workforce, we aim to dig deeper into the European scrap pile. This investment will enable us to bring more low value scrap types back to life as value added products for electrical transport solutions, building systems and renewable energy applications that will drive Europe’s green transition,” says Kallevik.

Increased production of Hydro CIRCAL

The recycling facility in Torija will be capable of producing Hydro CIRCAL and other recycled low-carbon aluminium with a CO2 footprint below 4 kg CO2 per kg aluminium.

Unique to Hydro, Hydro CIRCAL extrusion ingot contains at least 75 percent post-consumer scrap certified by third party auditor DNV GL and has a market leading CO2 footprint of only 2.3 kg CO2e/kg aluminum. The Torija project will complement the offering from Hydro’s plant in Azuqueca located nearby and bring a wider range of Hydro’s value added products to the Iberian market.