Novelis has announced that it 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 Center will have an annual casting capacity of 100 kilotonnes of low-carbon sheet ingot. Once online, the recycling center plans 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, senior vice president, chief strategy and sustainability officer, Novelis Inc. “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 aluminium the preferred material for all the markets Novelis serves.” 

Novelis, which already operates Asia’s largest aluminum recycling center in Yeongju, South Korea, as well as the world’s largest aluminium recycling center in Nachterstedt, Germany, is making this investment in additional recycling capacity to meet the growing global demand for sustainable aluminium products. In January, the company also announced it would build a new US recycling center in Guthrie, Kentucky. Using recycled aluminium as input material requires only 5 percent of the energy used to make primary aluminium, thus avoiding 95% of the carbon emissions associated with production.

Construction of the Ulsan Recycling Center is expected to begin in October, with commissioning expected in early 2024.

“The establishment of the Ulsan Aluminum Recycling Center is an important investment to help us achieve our ambition of becoming the world’s leading provider of sustainable, low-carbon aluminium solutions,” said Sachin Satpute, executive vice president, Novelis, and president, Novelis Asia. “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 aluminium’s transition to a fully circular economy.”