Novelis Inc. broke ground on a $365 million investment to build a highly advanced recycling center in Guthrie, Kentucky, which will support closed-loop recycling for the automotive market in North America.
“This groundbreaking marks a major milestone in our ongoing commitment to sustainability and recycling, and also supports our automotive customers’ carbon reduction targets,” said Tom Boney, executive vice president and president of Novelis North America. “The Commonwealth of Kentucky continues to be a great partner to Novelis. We are proud to build on the rich 40-year history of our aluminum recycling operations in Kentucky, and look forward to deepening our relationships to ensure our facility has a lasting, beneficial impact in the region.”
The new recycling center will be constructed adjacent to Novelis’ existing automotive finishing plant in Guthrie, which opened in October 2021. The finishing plant produces high quality aluminum sheet products for key automotive customers, such as BMW, Tesla, Ford, and Stellantis.
The Guthrie recycling center will also be focused on automotive. It will be outfitted with industry-leading processes and capabilities, including advanced shredding and sorting technology, aimed at ensuring efficient closed-loop recycling for automotive customers. The center will have an annual casting capacity of 240,000 tons of sheet ingot.
In addition, the facility will feature energy-efficient innovations designed to reduce Novelis’ carbon emissions by more than one million tons each year. This is in alignment with the company’s sustainability goal to reduce energy intensity by 10% by 2026 and be net carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner.
Novelis welcomed nearly 100 attendees to its groundbreaking, including government officials. “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this ground-breaking ceremony today for a project that will create 140 quality jobs for Kentucky residents,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Novelis has seen rapid growth in our state, and this new recycling center in Todd County emphasizes the company’s commitment to sustainability and job creation in the commonwealth. I want to thank the leaders at Novelis for this latest long-term commitment in our incredible workforce.”
The Guthrie recycling center is expected to be operational in 2024.