Hydro CIRCAL is recycled aluminum made with minimum 75% post-consumer scrap recovered from end-of-life products such as windows, facades, vehicles and consumer electronics. The post-consumer scrap content is tracked and documented for each production batch. The process is independently verified by DNV.
By bringing aluminum back into circulation instead of sending materials to landfill, Hydro CIRCAL helps customers increase circular material use and reduce product-level emissions.
*Product and market dependent
Manufacturers across automotive, construction, infrastructure and consumer industries are under increasing pressure to reduce product-level emissions and document circular material choices.
At the same time, recycled aluminum on the market often relies heavily on pre-consumer scrap or average-based reporting, making it difficult to verify the actual environmental impact of the material used. Hydro CIRCAL was developed to increase the use of post-consumer aluminum scrap at industrial scale while providing verified recycled content and documented carbon footprint data.
Post-consumer scrap comes from aluminum products that have already been used and reached end of life such as buildings, façades, vehicles, cables and consumer electronics. This differs from pre-consumer scrap, also called industrial scrap, which is production scrap generated during manufacturing. Post-consumer scrap is generally considered more circular because it brings aluminum back into use after the product has served its original purpose. If the scrap is not brought back into the recycling loop, it ends up as waste in landfills and serves no further purpose.
Recycling post-consumer aluminum is more complex and requires advanced sorting, alloy control and process technology to meet demanding quality and performance requirements. This is where Hydro’s recycling technology, expertise, and ability to make use of the scrap in an industrial scale, are critical.
| Category | Pre-consumer scrap | Post-consumer scrap |
| Origin | Generated during manufacturing | Recovered after product use |
| Typical sources | Cleaner and easier to recycle | Complex to sort and process |
| Recycling complexity | Easier to process | Diverts waste from landfills |
| Circular impact | Ensure recycling of industrial waste | Avoids end‑of‑life aluminum being sent to landfill |
| Sustainability impact | Lowers waste in manufacturing process | Reduces landfill and demand for new material |
The post-consumer scrap content is tracked and documented for each production batch. The process is independently verified by DNV, and documented with product-specific carbon footprint data. This gives customers verified data to meet their science-based decarbonization targets.
Unlike average-based reporting, batch-level verification confirms the actual recycled content and carbon footprint of the material delivered.
Download Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
Hydro CIRCALs product-specific and third-party verified documentation supports sustainability reporting, procurement requirements and environmental certification frameworks.
The documentation available for Hydro CIRCAL supports:
Hydro CIRCAL meets the same technical and mechanical requirements as conventional aluminum alloys.
The material is suitable for demanding applications across:
Hydro CIRCAL is compatible with existing manufacturing and processing methods and is already used in high-performance products.
Hydro CIRCAL 100R is Hydro’s near-zero aluminum made entirely from post-consumer scrap.
The product demonstrates how advanced sorting, recycling technology and process control can significantly reduce emissions while maintaining the quality requirements needed for demanding applications.
Hydro CIRCAL 100R has already been used in selected building and design applications and has received international recognition for its recycling innovation.
