Recycled aluminium the new sought-after material in low-carbon construction

Since Hydro launched its Circal recycled aluminium a year ago, it has won more than 40 big and small building projects around the world. “This is currently one of Hydro’s fastest-growing segments,” says Egil Hogna, head of Hydro’s Extruded Solutions division.

Circal is Hydro’s greener aluminium brand with minimum 75% recycled post-consumer scrap and a certified carbon footprint below 2.3 kg CO₂ per kg aluminium. Since it was first introduced, Hydro’s Extruded Solutions business, which supplies facades and building solutions to the building and construction industry, has gone all-in on selling these greener aluminium brands.

Hydro recently passed a milestone of 40 building projects using Circal facades. That is about 2,300 tonnes of greener aluminium, with big and small projects of up to 400 tonnes. An example is Økern Portal, one of Norway’s largest development projects, which uses about 300 tonnes of Circal aluminium in its facades.

“The volumes are still small in the big picture of the global aluminium market, but this is currently one of Hydro’s fastest-growing segments. By the end of 2020, all of Building Systems’ products and solutions in Europe will be available in Circal and Reduxa, and we expect demand for low-carbon aluminium to grow in the years to come,” says Hogna.

Reduxa is Hydro’s series of low-carbon primary aluminium. It has a maximum carbon footprint of 4.0 kg CO₂ per kg aluminium produced. One-fourth of the global average.

This year, Hydro will ramp up production of Circal by increasing annual capacity to 25,000 tonnes with an upgrade and expansion of the Azuqueca recycling plant in Spain.

Hydro claims to be the first aluminium producer supplying prime quality end-of-life recycled aluminium with a certified content of more than 75% recycled post-consumer scrap. The production process is fully traceable, and the product is certified by an independent third party (DNV GL).

The European Commission’s sustainability targets require all new buildings to operate at net zero carbon emissions by 2030 – and all buildings by 2050. Hydro’s Circal 75R is enabling builders and architects to meet the most demanding sustainability targets.