Hydro celebrated the official opening of its new US$150 million recycling plant in Cassopolis, MI. This milestone comes only 18 months after breaking ground at the site. Reported to have the lowest carbon footprint in North America, the recycling plant will serve a number of markets, while also supporting automotive innovation in Michigan and throughout the U.S.
“With the U.S. experiencing a manufacturing renaissance, this is a great day for Cassopolis and for Hydro, said Hilde Merete Aasheim, president and CEO of Hydro, as she congratulated the 70 employees at the plant for their outstanding work during construction and start-up. “Aluminum is a key enabler in the green transition. Recycling aluminum scrap reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while promoting a more circular economy. We are positioning ourselves to become the leading producer of low-carbon, recycled aluminum in North America. This plant in Cassopolis is going to be an example of sustainability and profitability going hand in hand.”
New Recycling Plant
The new plant is using Hydro’s next generation recycling technology, which the company pioneered in Europe. This technology will enable the plant to recycle more post-consumer aluminum scrap, enabling the production of 265 million lbs (120,000 metric tons) of aluminum extrusion ingot at the site per year. This will enable the plant to supply value added products to the automotive, transport, building and construction, and the consumer durables markets.
“The demand for sustainably produced aluminum has been growing rapidly within virtually all of our market segments, and among carmakers in particular, so we see this as a perfect time to introduce Hydro CIRCAL in larger volumes than before,” said Eivind Kallevik, executive vice president for Hydro Aluminum Metal. “And it is only the beginning.”
The Cassopolis plant is not the first greenfield recycling plant the company has built in the U.S. In total, Hydro has 11 recycling plants in the U.S. and one in Canada. With the start up of production in Cassopolis, Hydro will now have the ability to produce a total over 2.2 billion pounds of recycling based aluminum billet each year across the U.S.
Notably, Cassopolis is the first to serve as a large-scale producer of Hydro CIRCAL, which contains at least 75% post-consumer aluminum scrap, certified by third-party auditors DNV GL. CIRCAL is said to have a market leading CO2 footprint of just 2.3 kg CO2e per kg aluminum or less.
In anticipation of the production start at Cassopolis, Hydro has been delivering quantities of Hydro CIRCAL to U.S. customers from its plants in Commerce, TX, and Henderson, KY, for the past year and a half.
As part of the ceremony, Aasheim also welcomed the technical experts working at Hydro’s Aluminum Technology Center in Zeeland, MI. The team provides critical performance testing data to support Hydro’s production facilities and customers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in offering high performance aluminum products into demanding end markets such as automotive. The five person team will be expanding and moving into a new lab and office space directly next to the Cassopolis plant. “Having this best-in-class technology center right next door will strengthen Hydro’s ability to deliver on future growth plans in Cassopolis and in the U.S.,” said Aasheim.
Aluminum for Lighter Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
Michigan is home to about 90% of the top 100 automotive suppliers to the U.S. For years, automakers have been using aluminum to reduce the weight of gas and diesel powered vehicles, lowering fuel consumption and emissions, and increasing performance. The metal also plays a significant role in the lightweighting of electric and hybrid vehicles, which tend to be heavier than cars with internal combustion engines due to the weight of the batteries.
“We have been in business for as long as Michigan has been making cars, and with manufacturers switching to electric vehicles, the automotive industry is where the benefits of lightweight and infinitely recyclable aluminum really can make a difference to consumers looking to reduce transport costs and emissions,” said Aasheim.
Christopher Braathen, plant manager at Cassopolis, added, “We are seeing interest from leading OEMs and aluminum extrusion companies, and we look forward to partnering with them to further expand production of automotive products with our new capabilities at Cassopolis.”