The Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) recently updated its ISRI Specifications1 to approve the addition of a new scrap specification, called “vesper.” The new specification was developed in partnership with Novelis and other partners in the recycling supply chain. Vesper is designed to meet the growing demand for recycled wrought products (sheet, extrusion, and/or plate), which have stricter requirements regarding the amount of inclusions in the scrap stream.
Growing Demand for Recycled Wrought Products
Demand for aluminum is increasing across a variety of sectors from automotive to aerospace, packaging, and critical infrastructure. According to Ducker Carlisle, aluminum demand for the automotive sector will reach 556 lbs per vehicle by 2030—compared to 120 lbs per vehicle in 1980.2 In addition to increased demand, automotive and other industries are responding to growing interest in more sustainable products, requiring increased use of post-consumer scrap to lower the carbon footprint of the aluminum.
When automobiles reach end-of-life (EOL), they are disassembled and shredded, resulting in the production of zorba and twitch scrap grades. Zorba is a scrap mix sourced from the recycling of shredded EOL vehicles, electrical waste, and other goods, with an aluminum content of 70–90% combined with other metals. Twitch is generally produced from zorba, which has been sorted to contain 91–93% aluminum.
“Twitch typically contains a combination of cast and wrought aluminum recovered during the shredding of cars and EOL products,” said Gary Gallo, senior manager, recycling technology, Novelis. “Because of the high silicon content in the cast alloys, twitch is generally used by the secondary industry to make new cast products, like wheels, engine blocks, and transmission housings. Any wrought aluminum content in twitch has historically been downcycled away from its original form and repurposed into cast products. Once this happens, it can no longer be recycled into new sheets or extrusions due to high silicon levels.”
Ford introduced its all-aluminum F-150 in 2014 and has since used aluminum in its Navigator and Expedition models. As Gallo pointed out at the 2025 ReMA Convention & Exhibition, these Ford models and other aluminum-intensive vehicles are starting to reach the end of their life, leading to increased proportions of wrought alloy content being found in twitch (compared to cast alloys).3 It’s important to automakers and producers like Novelis to recover this wrought material instead of allowing it to be downcycled.
Therefore, the new vesper grade is specified to be made up of aluminum extrusion, sheet, and/or plate (wrought aluminum),1 which has been segregated from zorba or twitch. According to ReMA, the material must contain no more than a maximum of 1% free magnesium, 1% free zinc, and 0.5% free iron, as well as no more than 1% free non-metallics. In addition, the material must be dry and free of excessively oxidized material, air bag canisters, or any sealed or pressurized items.
“The vesper specification was created to draw attention to the market need for a new scrap stream explicitly focused on recycling the wrought fraction of twitch,” said Bea Landa, vice president of Metal Procurement and Recycling for Novelis North America. “It provides a precise definition of scrap content and represents a clear opportunity for the scrap industry to create value by sorting twitch into new, high-value specifications, which can be consumed into a wider variety of products.”
Gallo also pointed out that much of the twitch scrap stream is exported outside of North America due to insufficient domestic demand for cast products. “Processing this material into vesper creates new domestic markets that help to keep critical raw materials from leaving the country, while adding value for all participants,” he noted. “The production of vesper also helps to improve the circularity of sheet and extrusion products by recycling wrought scrap back to wrought products.”
Development of Vesper
ReMA’s ISRI Specifications are designed to provide common language in order to facilitate the trading and use of recycled materials (such as aluminum and other metals and materials). The association regularly reviews its specifications to ensure they meet the evolving demands of the global recycling industry, and any company or organization can propose additions, modifications, or deletions.
The ReMA Nonferrous Division initiated the request to create a new specification based on wrought aluminum alloys. Members of the division had noticed that a new type of aluminum scrap was being further processed and consumed in the market place. This new type of aluminum scrap was thanks to the development of multiple advanced sorting technologies, including x-ray fluorescence (XRF), x-ray transmission (XRT), laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and optical sortation with artificial intelligence (AI).
“These technologies have been in development for many years,” explained Gallo. “More recently, the technology has improved to the point where it can be applied cost-effectively and on a large scale. Beginning in early 2020, Novelis began actively engaging with technology providers, like Sortera, Steinert, and Tomra, to create segregation technologies capable of separating cast and wrought fractions. Later, this list of technology providers has expanded to include Binder and SGM. In the subsequent years, Novelis has conducted extensive trials with all recycling and technology providers to validate the ability of various technologies to create a vesper specification.”
Development of the vesper specification was officially initiated in 2024, with ReMA staff guiding the process, while the members contributed the research and voted on the final language. “The entire process from initiation to final acceptance into the ReMA Specifications was six months,” said Emily Sanchez, chief economist at ReMA. “The steps involved include the formation of a committee within the Nonferrous Division to look into the proposed creation of a new specification. Then, the group reached out to a broader community of traders and consumers, followed by the full Nonferrous Division for approval. A 20-day public notice was posted and released. Following this public review, the ReMA Board of Directors approved the new specification. Then it went to another public review period of 30 days. With no material comments received, vesper officially became a specification.”
Impact on the Industry
The introduction of the vesper specification will directly benefit the aluminum recycling and casting sector, providing a key definition for trading this grade of scrap material. This is expected to have a number of benefits for the industry. “Recyclers, technology providers, cast, sheet, and extrusion producers will all be able to participate in this new market,” said Landa. “Additionally, consumers of aluminum, like automakers, beverage can producers, and construction product manufacturers will benefit from increased levels of EOL content and the carbon reduction this brings. Recyclers will also benefit from new domestic markets for vesper, which will provide viable options for a scrap stream that has been largely exported as zorba and twitch.”
Vesper could also have an impact on manufacturing for recyclers, casthouses, and consumers, as they adapt to the increased introduction of vesper into the supply chain. Gallo noted some of these potential changes as follows:
- Customers, like automakers, may need to modify their existing specifications to allow for EOL scrap inclusion.
- Producers of secondary aluminum ingot (like A-380) will likely see changes to their scrap composition, as the wrought fractions in vesper are recycled by wrought producers.
- Wrought producers will need to modify processes and specifications to consume this new scrap stream.
- Scrap recyclers will need to invest in new technology to produce vesper.
“For recyclers, who already produce twitch, producing vesper will likely involve an additional piece of equipment, typically an XRF, XRT, LIBS, or AI device,” explained Gallo. “For producers of zorba, several extra pieces of equipment will likely be required to remove heavier metals (copper, brass, and stainless steel) from aluminum, followed by segregating cast and wrought aluminum to make vesper. As a spec, vesper does not outline analytical limitations other than for iron, but focuses on the compositional limits for things like magnesium and zinc. Typically, aluminum consumers will create their own specifications connected to their purchase orders that specify chemistry requirements.”
Sanchez believes the recycling industry will have no trouble adopting the vesper specification. “Since this material is currently being traded, the industry already acknowledges vesper as a specification,” she said. “ReMA’s ISRI Specifications are reflective of current market conditions and trading practices; they are not aspirational.”
Landa noted that some level of education may be necessary to make the wider market aware of the vesper specification. “Market predictions for vesper generation in North America are significant—the potential is for several hundred thousand tonnes per year,” she explained. “However, vesper production will largely depend on its adoption by aluminum producers and recyclers. Novelis is actively engaged with the Aluminum Association to educate the broader aluminum industry to the emergence of vesper and encourage other aluminum mills to consume vesper and support its market adoption.”
References
- “ReMA’s ISRI Specifications,” ISRI Specs.
- “Powering up American Aluminum: A Roadmap for Next Generation Supply Chain Resilience,” The Aluminum Association, May 2025.
- Toto, DeAnne, “ReMA 2025: Meeting growing demand for recycled aluminum with vesper,” Recycling Today, May 20, 2025.
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the October 2025 issue of Light Metal Age. To receive the current issue, please subscribe.