Hydro is installing solar panels at its Alumetal recycling plant in Kety, Poland, switching a portion of its energy supply to local, self-generated renewable energy. The new solar panels will generate 1,000 MWh of electricity each year for the production of low-carbon, recycled aluminum products for the European green transition.
“Power is an important input factor for the aluminum industry and switching to renewable energy is critical to decarbonize our value chain,” said Hanne Simensen, executive vice president in Hydro Aluminium Metal. “Even if aluminum recycling only requires five percent of the energy used to produce primary metal in a smelter, every step matters to get to net-zero. The solar panels in Kety are yet another step in the right direction.”
The €870,000 (US$910,232) investment will include the installation of solar panels, as well as a modernization of the plant’s main security and electrical energy measurement system. The 1,000 MWh of electricity produced will meet 15% of the plant’s annual electricity needs, which is enough to power around 100 average European households for a year. When the Kety plant is not using all the electricity produced, the extra energy will flow into the local power grid, providing nearby homes, businesses, and other facilities with clean energy.
“The solar panels at Kety are another important milestone for Alumetal and a key step in our decarbonization journey,” said Agnieszka Drzyżdżyk, CEO of Alumetal. “The use of local, onsite energy production will increase energy efficiency, improve circularity at our plant and lower the carbon footprint of the final, recycled aluminum product we deliver to our customers.”
Hydro acquired Alumetal in 2023, adding four recycling plants — three in Poland and one in Hungary — with a total capacity of 280,000 tonnes per year. Alumetal’s plants use up to 94% recycled materials (including more than 50 percent post-consumer scrap over 35% pre-consumer scrap, as well as a small portion of alloying materials) in the production of foundry alloys, primarily serving the automotive sector.
On November 4, 2024, Alumetal completed an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Based on an independent third-party study, the EPD provides full transparency of the mixture of scrap qualities used to make recycled foundry alloy at the company’s plants.
“By applying industry leading practices, Alumetal is able to turn trash into treasure,” noted Simensen. “The product declaration not only validates Hydro’s and Alumetal’s commitment to drive sustainability and responsibility in the aluminum industry, but also provides our customers and partners with exact knowledge of the environmental impact of their supply chain.”
The new solar panels being installed at the Kety plant are expected to be in operation during the second quarter of 2025. This solar investment comes on top of recent investments and sustainability efforts made at the plant. A NOK 200 million (US$17.9) modernization and investment project at the Kety plant, which will increase the plant’s capacity by approximately 30,000 tonnes and provide safety and operational efficiency improvements, will be completed the first half of 2025.