Aluminum is a strong, durable, and versatile metal. It is light, easily machined, formed, corrosion-resistant, and highly conductive. In construction, it is used for windows, doors, and façades, enhancing the longevity and energy efficiency of buildings due to its reflective properties. Various surface treatments offer designers a range of finishes. Given its high energy production cost, aluminum should be produced using renewable power or recycled scrap.

We like to nominate the Hydro CIRCAL product and the sorting technology that allows for the high-quality sorting of alloys to produce Hydro CIRCAL for the Green Research and Technology Award.

Hydro CIRCAL is a high-quality aluminum series made from recycled aluminum, using a high percentage of post-consumer scrap from old windows, doors, and façades. This process reduces mineral extraction, waste emissions, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions. Unlike other recycled aluminum products that use production cut-offs from production, Hydro CIRCAL contributes to both emissions reductions and save materials from landfill.

Years of R&D and advanced sorting technology enable Hydro to produce this low carbon, recycled product and could bring it to the market in 2019 ( North America in 2024) by turning old scrap into new high-quality metal used in electric vehicles, designer furniture, consumer electronics, and building facades. HySort technology recovers specific aluminum alloys from obsolete products, returning them to similar applications. Installed in the U.S. in 2024 through a joint venture with Recycler Padnos, this technology handles mixed scrap types, preventing landfill waste and creating low-carbon products for various markets.

Access to post-consumer scrap is crucial for U.S. manufacturers. When products reach their end-of-life, materials can either end up in landfills or be recycled. Annually, the U.S. sends more aluminum to landfills than it produces as new metal, while exporting large quantities of high-quality scrap. In 2023, about two million tons of aluminum scrap were exported, and enough aluminum to supply 11,000 cars went to landfills. Alusort will sort up to 20,000 tonnes of aluminum scrap per year, thus reducing landfill waste.

This technology revolutionizes aluminum production by lowering its footprint and recovering scrap from landfills.

Technical Details:
-Hydro CIRCAL 75R: 75% recycled post-consumer scrap, carbon footprint below 1.9 kg CO2/kg aluminum.
-Hydro CIRCAL 100R: 100% recycled post-consumer scrap, carbon footprint below 0.5 kg CO2/kg aluminum (97% lower than the global primary aluminum average). Traced on an individual batch, EPD, ASI, and DNV certified, covering scope 1, 2, and 3, using avoided burden methodology.
-HySort uses laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, or LIBS, technology that was developed with Texas-based Austin AI, and Hydro’s recycling hub in Dormagen, Germany, has been using the technology to recover specific aluminum alloys from obsolete vehicles and electronics.

The Cassopolis plant will be the first large-scale producer of Hydro CIRCAL in North America.

Category:Green RecyclingYear:2025Location: Michican, USADesigners:John Tee, Max Lamb, and Lars Beller, Norsk Hydro ASA, Corte Madera, California, USAManufacturer:Hydro, USA and Europe and Padnos Iron & Metal Company, Holland, Michigan, USAPhotographers:Einar Aslaksen