With 2023 already setting new record global temperatures and climate breakdown leading to extreme weather patterns, wildfires, and the like – it’s never been more important for the resources sector to double down on its carbon reduction commitments.
For Novelis the single biggest lever to achieve this is to increase the volume of recycled scrap we use, which in turn displaces the use of primary aluminium and its energy hungry production process plus the upstream impacts of mining and refining. There is much talk in all material sectors about ‘green’ or ‘low carbon’ commodities, and whilst these are all laudable and needed the most sustainable commodity is a low carbon and recycled one, as with energy, particularly renewable energy being such a scarce resource making a circular material like aluminium with 95% less energy than a mined primary version – is an outright winner.
But we’re not in the home straight yet, there are gaps to fill and barriers to be broken. First of all, we need to close the loop on all the available scrap aluminium, which for the aluminium beverage can in the UK means recycling all the production scrap created by our downstream customers in the process of making cans from sheet aluminium, then capturing the last 20-30% of end-of-life beverage cans collected today by local authorities and waste management contractors. For this second challenge the UK Government’s now delayed DRS scheme will be an overdue and welcome intervention. Elsewhere we continue the technical innovation process that will allow the drinks can that you see today to incorporate yet more recycled aluminium in the future. Stretching even beyond today’s impressive 80% benchmark. And then we come to our production processes to recycle, remelt, and remanufacture aluminium cans from scrap….
Globally aluminium production accounts for a rather unimpressive 3% of all carbon emissions. The lion’s share of this is connected to the power generation needed for electricity to manufacture primary aluminium, especially where this remains fossil fuel based as in much of China. Nonetheless Aluminium Remelting and recycling a traditionally natural gas-based process needs to break new ground to further decarbonize and deliver on its own contribution.
Therefore, for our UK operations it is fantastic news that our Latchford (Warrington) can to can recycling plant has been awarded a £4.6 million grant to establish hydrogen burning trials as part of the UK Government’s £55m Industrial Fuel Switching Competition, and their £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP). The hydrogen trial requires the installation of new burners and regenerators – both capable of operating with hydrogen or a blended hydrogen/gas input – and replacing the furnace lining material with one suitable for hydrogen. Depending on the final configuration, replacing natural gas with hydrogen to feed the remelting furnace could reduce CO2eq emissions by up to 90% compared to using the same amount of natural gas. In addition Novelis’ research & development teams worldwide are also investigating the ability to use plasma, electricity, and biomass to power our manufacturing operations.
I am proud to work for an organisation that has made that corporate commitment to net zero carbon by 2050 but also backed this up with short-term targets to reduce carbon emission by 30% by 2026 and to pioneer new fuels and technologies that can ultimately help to move the needle in the right direction. As I said at the outset, now is the time. So, whilst we have some way to go to prove the environmental, safety and financial viability of hydrogen as a new low carbon fuel source for aluminium recycling, we are a step closer to the possibility that in years to come the aluminium cans collected and recycled by your local authority are recycled in a UK-based low/zero carbon operation.
