Brembo officially launched the use of an alloy with 100% recycled aluminum in the production of its original equipment calipers for automotive vehicles — a key step forward in the company’s sustainability journey.
“The adoption of recycled aluminum in the production of our iconic brake calipers embodies our ongoing commitment to innovation for sustainability. This solution is designed to meet the highest standards of performance and environmental responsibility,” said Daniele Schillaci, CEO of Brembo. “Brembo’s journey is one of continuous improvement, unwavering commitment and this innovation we’re bringing to the market represents our contribution to building a future where our new products are smarter, safer and more sustainable than the one before.”
Development Process
The shift to fully recycled aluminum involved five years of research and development in collaboration between Brembo and an automotive OEM. Launched in 2020, the project set out to enhance the environmental profile of Brembo’s manufacturing processes. An assessment of the full production cycle helped identify key areas where improvements could have the most impact. Aluminum’s unique ability to be infinitely recycled without any loss in quality made it a natural focus, offering significant potential to lower environmental impact.
Based on that insight, the team explored various alloys available on the global market, looking for a solution that could guarantee the same mechanical performance and castability as the original material — but with significantly lower CO₂ emissions. Additionally, Brembo prioritized the identification of an alloy available across all the regions where Brembo has its production plants.
After extensive scouting and testing, Brembo found the perfect match — an alloy made entirely from recycled aluminum. Using this alloy, CO₂ emissions across the entire lifecycle of the caliper can be reduced by 70% compared to conventional alloy (based on a comparative Life Cycle Assessment study on calipers made from the recycled alloy and the traditional alloy, conducted by Brembo and verified by an independent third party).
The shift to the new material demanded a re-evaluation of the company’s brake calipers and an update to the manufacturing process. A comprehensive redesign and reindustrialization effort was launched to ensure the new solution could be scaled globally across all Brembo plants, delivering the highest quality and performance.
Low-Carbon Aluminum Calipers
From a design perspective, the component retains all the stylistic features that have made the Italian brand distinctive. It is indeed possible to achieve unique shapes and designs, as well as to use a wide range of available colors. To make Brembo’s progress tangible, calipers using the new recycled alloy will feature a new ALU trademark logo registered by the company, visually distinguishing those made with recycled aluminum.
Brembo has already has begun supplying one of its major customers with brake calipers made from 100% recycled aluminum — and this transition is underway across all markets. From now on, the majority of new caliper development will start with recycled material as the standard.
For calipers currently in production, Brembo will continue to use conventional aluminum until the end of their product life, while prioritizing the adoption of aluminum produced with renewable energy. For example, Brembo recently signed a supply agreement with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) for the delivery of CelestiAL, primary aluminum produced using solar power, which reduces emissions during smelting.