Novelis targets 95% recycling for automotive aluminium

Aditya Birla Group subsidiary partners with automotive circular economy enterprise The Future is Neutral to create a solution for end-of-life vehicles

At Aditya Birla Group, sustainability is central to both business and strategy. Novelis, a subsidiary of Hindalco – the Group’s metals flagship – is reflecting its circular economy approach to manufacturing by aiming to achieve at least 95% recycling in its automotive aluminium division. This initiative, in association with automotive circular economy enterprise The Future is Neutral, is aligned with the Group’s sustainable business framework.

The partnership focuses on scaling up the production of high-recycled-content automotive aluminium sheet. It focuses on creating a circular economy solution for end-of-life vehicles, aiming for a minimum of 95% recycled content in automotive aluminium, including over 50% from post-consumer scrap. The collaboration aims to revolutionise the automotive industry by integrating more recycled materials into vehicle production. “Collaborations with strong partners are crucial to achieving these goals by retrieving greater volumes and high-quality aluminium scrap from end-of-life vehicles,” says Michael Hahne, Vice President, Commercial, Novelis Europe.

Wealth in Waste

Even as the imperatives of climate action are gaining increasing traction globally, limiting the use of natural resources through innovative solutions has become a critical need for industry. At Aditya Birla Group, we believe that approach to sustainability world necessitates building sustainable businesses that must operate successfully within the progressively tougher legal standards and tighter resource constraints that will become a reality over time. The way forward is to invest in innovation, adopt cutting-edge technologies, explore new forms of collaboration and develop new business models, which will be consistent with the new economic order – the sustainable world order.

Aditya Birla Group businesses are taking proactive measures to fulfil its vision of becoming the leading Indian conglomerate for sustainable business practices across its global operations. One significant area is the movement towards a circular economy by managing waste for a cleaner, more environment-friendly manufacturing process. By innovating new ways of managing waste, Group companies are converting waste into a resource and moving towards a cleaner process of manufacturing and in turn generating value for the society. More important, this future-proofing strategy helps exponentially increase the sustainability quotient of the Group, while contributing to the climate goals.  

Power of Recycling

Even as transitioning to clean energy is vital, another very impactful way to reduce emissions is by recycling more aluminium. Producing aluminium from recycled material requires approximately 95% less energy than making new aluminium, resulting in 95% fewer carbon emissions. This is why circularity is at the heart of the business model. As part of Novelis 3x30 vision to advance aluminium as the material of choice with circular solutions, the sustainability-driven world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling is aiming to achieve 75% recycled content in its products by 2030.

Using more recycled aluminium helps reduce demand for energy as well as carbon-intensive primary aluminium, thus ensuring that the infinitely recyclable material remains in circulation. Towards this, Novelis continues to invest in recycling capacity and technology, scrap collection networks, and customer partnerships to reclaim and reuse aluminium scrap generated through the processes.

Partners in Progress

Novelis is a global leader in aluminium recycling and innovative low-carbon aluminium products. The Future is Neutral specialises in the collection, dismantling and sorting of end-of-life materials, including aluminium. The partnership emphasises the circular economy model, aiming to keep valuable materials within the automotive value chain and minimise waste. The goal is to establish a competitive industrial offering of automotive sheet aluminium with high recycled content, specifically targeting the European automotive industry for mass production.

Novelis already supplies carmakers with products made from up to 85% aluminium recycler for outer skin panels and forming-critical applications in vehicles. Building on this success, this partnership seeks to achieve even higher recycled content, leveraging The Future is Neutral’s expertise in sourcing and segregating end-of-life vehicle scrap. By integrating more recycled content into automotive manufacturing, the partnership aims to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the automotive industry and promote a more sustainable future.

“The automotive industry is increasingly seeking competitive solutions to source low-carbon aluminium. Our goal is to provide them with circular recycled materials sourced from end-of-life vehicles,” says Xavier Kaufman, Chief Business Officer, The Future is Neutral, adding that the partnership with Novelis catalyses its expertise in automotive circularity to serve the mutual purpose, and position both companies at the forefront of the initiative.

Did you know?

Novelis is the leading buyer and recycler of used beverage cans globally – recycling more than 84 billion cans annually.