Novelis Inc. started a closed-loop recycling partnership with Smart Press Shop (SPS), a joint venture between Porsche AG and Schuler Group. The agreement will support the companies in supplying sustainable aluminum products to the automotive industry.
“High-end car customers have a clear vision of what they expect manufacturers to provide, and in addition to premium quality, sustainability is playing an increasing role,” said Hendrik Rothe, managing director of SPS. “With our partner Novelis, we are able to take intelligent automotive designs and manufacturing to new heights by making more efficient, sustainable automotive components and increasing the resiliency of our supply chain.”
SPS operates a body parts plant in Halle (Saale), Germany. The company is focused on sustainably and efficiently producing the highest quality components for automotive exteriors, such as door panels and hood skins. The company selected Novelis as a trusted partner due to its proven success in developing and implementing closed-loop recycling systems around the globe for leading automakers, such as BMW, VOLVO, Nissan, Ford, and Jaguar Land Rover, among others.
With the closed-loop system, Novelis will supply SPS with aluminum flat rolled products from its plant in Nachterstedt, Germany. Then, the production scrap that is generated during SPS’ manufacturing process will be delivered back to Nachterstedt, where it will be recycled and converted back into new, high-quality rolled sheet. This new sheet will once again be delivered to SPS, where it will re-enter the company’s production loop and be manufactured into sustainable lightweight automotive body parts.
SPS optimizes its material recovery rates by using innovative, digitized processes and state-of-the-art laser cutting technology in manufacturing exterior vehicle body parts. In addition, the close proximity between the Halle plant and the Nachterstedt Recycling Center further enhances environmental sustainability due to reduced transport times.
In the automotive industry, recycling programs are a major contributor to achieving carbon reduction goals and the use of infinitely recyclable aluminum has been central to those efforts. Since recycling aluminum requires 95% less energy to produce than primary aluminum, the Novelis and SPS partnership is projected to reduce carbon emissions by up to 100,000 tons per year.
Novelis and SPS have already secured initial projects for premium car manufacturers that are focused on lightweighting, and the two companies are working together to extend the supply of sustainable aluminum car body parts to additional automakers. The partners are constantly seeking new opportunities and working to scale the closed-loop recycling program to achieve even greater CO2 savings.
“SPS and Novelis are ideal partners to advance the automotive industry closer to achieving the standards of a circular economy through sustainable material sourcing and production,” said Michael Hahne, vice president, Automotive, Novelis Europe. “At Novelis, we have a remarkable story to tell about our closed-loop recycling innovations. From our objective of achieving zero waste-to-landfills to becoming carbon neutral, we take our responsibility as a global sustainability leader very seriously and look forward to all that we can achieve with SPS.”