Hydro is working alongside Siemens Mobility, TSR Group, and Voestalpine to recycle aluminum recovered from decommissioned trains to produce new rail components. The Train2Train project demonstrates how collaboration and a focus on traceability can keep aluminum in use across the rail sector.
“Aluminum can be recycled repeatedly without losing its properties,” said Piotr Chmielewski, vice president Automotive, Rail and Automation, Hydro Extrusions Europe. “By combining recycling expertise, digital traceability and manufacturing capabilities, we can create new opportunities for circular solutions in the rail industry. This project builds on Hydro’s ambition to accelerate the transition towards a more circular and low-carbon aluminum industry.”
Hydro supplies a variety of aluminum solutions for the rail industry, supporting manufacturers with lightweight, durable, and recyclable materials for applications such as train structures, interiors, and components. With expertise across aluminum extrusion, recycling, and low-carbon aluminum production, the company works with customers throughout the value chain to develop solutions that improve modern trains and help manufacturers meet challenging sustainability ambitions.
The Train2Train project is a demonstration of Hydro’s commitment to low-carbon aluminum and circular economy, showing how collaboration across the value chain can keep valuable materials in circulation. The project aims demonstrate that the materials from a decommissioned train can be recovered, recycled, and reborn into a brand new one. At a time when global supply chains are under increasing pressure, gaining greater control over material flows is becoming increasingly important. The project brings together the full value chain, from dismantling and recycling to material processing and manufacturing, with each partner playing a critical role in creating a transparent and circular material loop.
In the Train2Train pilot study, Hydro will recycle aluminum from decommissioned trains at its recycling facility in Ghlin, Belgium. The aluminum comes from TSR Group, which has dismantled the rail vehicles and retrieved the materials with the aim of recycling them into new rail parts. TSR will also retrieve the steel material from the rail vehicle and ship this to Voestalpine for recycling and further production.
Upon melting, the aluminum will be processed into extrusion billets, which in turn will be used as input material at Hydro’s extrusion facility in Lichtervelde, Belgium.