Novelis Inc. will invest approximately $50 million to build a recycling centre at its Ulsan aluminum joint venture in South Korea. Fully funded by Novelis, the Ulsan recycling centre will have an annual casting capacity of 100 kilotonnes of low-carbon sheet ingot. Once online, Noveils expects the recycling centre to reduce the company's carbon emissions by more than 420,000 tons each year.
"This latest capital investment in recycling is another example of our company purpose of 'Shaping a Sustainable World Together' in action,'" said Pierre Labat, Noveils senior vice president, chief strategy and sustainability officer. "I am excited by the actions Novelis is taking to increase aluminum recycling worldwide and the benefits this will have for our customers and in making aluminum the preferred material for all the markets Novelis serves."
Novelis is making this investment in additional recycling capacity to meet the growing global demand for sustainable aluminum products. In January, the company said it would build a new U.S. recycling centre in Guthrie, Kentucky. Using recycled aluminum as input material requires only 5 percent of the energy used to make primary aluminum, thus avoiding 95 percent of the carbon emissions associated with production.
Construction of the Ulsan recycling centre is expected to begin in October, with commissioning expected in early 2024.
"By increasing the use of recycled content, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint as well as that of our customers and the broader industry, and accelerating aluminum's transition to a fully circular economy," said Sachin Satpute, Novelis executive vice president and Novelis Asia president.
