Hydro, the Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy company, and a world leader in the production of recycled and low-carbon aluminum, celebrated the official opening of the recycling plant in Cassopolis on November 16, just 18 months after breaking ground at the site.

Hydro President and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim congratulated the 70 employees at the plant for their outstanding work during construction as well as in the plant’s start-up phase. She also welcomed customers, local and state officials, and other community stakeholders to the ceremony.

“With the U.S. experiencing a manufacturing renaissance, this is a great day for Cassopolis and for Hydro. Aluminum is a key enabler in the green transition. Recycling aluminum scrap reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while promoting a more circular economy. We are positioning ourselves to become the leading producer of low-carbon, recycled aluminum in North America. This plant in Cassopolis is going to be an example of sustainability and profitability going hand in hand,” says Aasheim

Hydro expects to produce 265 million pounds (120,000 metric tons) of aluminum extrusion ingot per year at the site. The Cassopolis plant is the third greenfield recycling plant the company has built in the United States. In total, Hydro has 11 recycling plants in the U.S. and one in Canada, but Cassopolis is the first to serve as a large-scale producer of Hydro CIRCAL.

Hydro CIRCAL contains at least 75 percent post-consumer aluminum scrap, certified by third-party auditors DNV GL, and has a market leading CO2 footprint of just 2.3 kg CO2e per kg aluminum or less.

Bringing next generation aluminum recycling technology to the U.S.

The new plant is using Hydro’s next generation recycling technology, which the company pioneered in Europe. The plant will bring more post-consumer aluminum scrap back to life as value added products in the automotive, transport, building and construction, and the consumer durables markets.

With the start up of production in Cassopolis, Hydro will now have the ability to produce over 2.2 billion pounds of recycling based aluminum billet each year in the U.S. Recycling scrap aluminum requires only 5 percent of the energy used to produce primary aluminum, saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The plant will make its initial deliveries to non-automotive customers, once qualification trials are completed, the automotive industry will be the destination for more and more of the extrusion ingot produced in Cassopolis.

“The demand for sustainably produced aluminum has been growing rapidly within virtually all of our market segments, and among carmakers in particular, so we see this as a perfect time to introduce Hydro CIRCAL in larger volumes than before. And it is only the beginning,” says Eivind Kallevik, Executive Vice President for Hydro Aluminum Metal.

In anticipation of the production at Cassopolis, Hydro has been delivering quantities of Hydro CIRCAL to U.S. customers from its plants in Commerce, Texas, and Henderson, Kentucky for the past year and a half.

Aluminum for lighter electric and hybrid vehicles

Michigan is home to about 90 percent of the top 100 automotive suppliers to the U.S. For years, automakers have been using aluminum to reduce the weight of gas and diesel powered vehicles, lowering fuel consumption and emissions, and increasing performance.

The metal also plays a significant role in the lightweighting of electric and hybrid vehicles, which tend to be heavier than cars with internal combustion engines due to the weight of the batteries.

“We have been in business for as long as Michigan has been making cars, and with manufacturers switching to electric vehicles, the automotive industry is where the benefits of lightweight and infinitely recyclable aluminum really can make a difference to consumers looking to reduce transport costs and emissions,” says Aasheim.

“We are seeing interest from leading OEMs and aluminum extrusion companies, and we look forward to partnering with them to further expand production of automotive products with our new capabilities at Cassopolis,” says plant manager Christopher Braathen.

A good neighbor in Cassopolis

Prior to the opening ceremony, Aasheim and Kallevik visited Cassopolis Ross Beatty High School to present the Cassopolis RoboRangers, the school’s FIRST Robotics Team, with a $25,000 donation to support the team.

Last year, Hydro sponsored a tree planting with the Village of Cassopolis and Cassopolis Public Schools. The company also presented the Cassopolis Public Schools with a donation to support the STEAM program in their elementary and middle schools, and provided the Village with new outdoor furniture manufactured from low-carbon recycled Hydro CIRCAL aluminum.

“Hydro strives to be a good neighbor. It is in our DNA. We look forward to continuing our work with the local community here to bring stable jobs and career opportunities, and to invest in local education with an eye toward the next generation of Hydro employees,” says Aasheim.

Technology center strengthens U.S. growth plans

As part of the ceremony, Aasheim also welcomed the technical experts working at Hydro’s Aluminum Technology Center in Zeeland, Michigan. The team provides critical performance testing data to support Hydro’s production facilities and customers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in offering high performance aluminum products into demanding end markets such as automotive.

The five person team will be expanding and moving into a new lab and office space directly next to the plant.

“Having this best-in-class technology center right next door will strengthen Hydro’s ability to deliver on future growth plans in Cassopolis and in the U.S.,” says Aasheim

Hydro invested approximately USD 150 million in the new plant.