Aluminum Makers Seek Old Cans, Shredded Cars to Fuel New Plants

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Aluminum makers are on a nationwide hunt for more old cans, shredded cars and factory waste to keep up with growing demand. Companies including Norway’s Norsk Hydro ASA, Novelis Inc. and Canada’s Matalco Inc. are adding U.S. plants to produce more of the lightweight metal sought by auto companies, beverage can makers and other manufacturers. U.S. aluminum consumption grew by 11% last year, bouncing back from 2020’s pandemic-influenced reduction, according to the Aluminum Association trade group.

The threat of disrupted production and shipments from Russia, which supplies about 6% of aluminum in the U.S. made in smelters, has been driving aluminum prices higher as well as providing momentum for more scrap-based production in the U.S., industry analysts and company executives said. To meet rising demand, aluminum companies are doubling down on recycling, melting more scrap to increase their output of aluminum. “When you look at scrap capture and processing, it becomes more economical than it used to be,” said Mike Stier, vice president of finance and strategy for Norsk Hydro’s North American extrusion unit.

Norsk Hydro last year started work on a new plant in Cassopolis, Mich., that will be able to produce 120,000 metric tons of new aluminum from scrap each year. The $140 million project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. More than 40% of the country’s aluminum supply already is produced this way, making the U.S. one of the world’s biggest consumers of aluminum scrap. The U.S. is one of the world’s biggest exporters of aluminum scrap, too, with 2 million metric tons of it sent overseas last year, according to government data. Keeping more of that scrap, particularly from shredded autos, for domestic production is a challenge for aluminum executives aiming to boost their own companies’ production. Melting scrap for aluminum uses about 90% less electricity than producing aluminum in a smelter from refined bauxite ore, analysts said.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com