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Earth Day is a time to reflect on our collective responsibility to protect and preserve the planet. At Novelis, we are committed to driving sustainable practices and reducing our environmental impact, and this year’s theme—Our Power, Our Planet—resonates with our ongoing work toward renewable and clean energy solutions. As a global leader in aluminum recycling and rolling, we know that transitioning to renewable energy sources and embracing circularity are essential for a more sustainable future.

Novelis, a leading sustainable aluminum solutions provider and world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, announced the opening of the Ulsan Aluminum Recycling Center.

Novelis has invested $65 million in Ulsan Aluminum, a joint venture between Novelis and Kobe Steel to build the new recycling center with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of low-carbon aluminum sheet ingot.

Novelis currently operates Asia’s largest aluminum beverage can recycling facility in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do. With the addition of the Ulsan center, the company now has a domestic recycling capacity of approximately 470,000 tons per year. Fully funded by Novelis, the new center is equipped to process a wide range of aluminum scrap – including those from cans, automotive, and industrial sources – enhancing Novelis’ overall recycling capabilities in the region.

Through this facility, Novelis expects to reduce carbon emissions by 420,000 tons annually. This reduction is equivalent to the annual CO₂ absorption of approximately 19 million trees, based on an average of 22 kilograms1 per tree. Recycling aluminum can save 95% of energy used and 95% of greenhouse gases emitted when producing aluminum from bauxite. In addition, aluminum is a fully circular material as it is infinitely recyclable without any loss in quality. 

“The Ulsan Aluminum Recycling Center is a strategic investment aimed at meeting growing customer demand for sustainable, low-carbon aluminum across beverage packaging, automotive, and specialty product sectors,” said Sachin Satpute, President, Novelis Asia. “We will continue to expand the use of recycled aluminum inputs to reduce our carbon footprint as well as those of our customers and our industry, accelerating the transition to a circular economy.”

Novelis is advancing “Novelis 3×30” vision, focusing on three global objectives to be achieved by 2030: 

1. According to the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a single mature tree can absorb and store more than 48 pounds (approximately 21.8 kilograms) of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year.

    Novelis extends its partnership with HES-SO Valais-Wallis, EPFL, and local energy distributor OIKEN to continue the innovative work at the Net Zero Lab Valais. This two-years extension underscores Novelis’ commitment to carbon neutrality and the advancement of sustainable aluminium production.

    Since its inception in 2022, the Net Zero Lab Valais, located at Novelis’ Sierre plant, has been focusing on identifying and implementing strategies to achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

    At the end of 2025, an electric pusher furnace is expected to begin operations, replacing a gas furnace. The furnace will be fed by hydro power, thus saving approximately 4,500t CO2eq per year and potentially up to 180,000 CO2eq over the furnace’s lifetime.

    Likewise, the initiative to use waste heat from the casting process is progressing and already provides heating for nearby buildings. For the first time last winter (2023/2024), the plant recovered more heat than it consumed for building heating.

    Looking ahead, the Net Zero Lab Valais is exploring additional opportunities for decarbonizing high temperature melting processes, like oxyfuel, hydrogen, plasma and biomass.

    "Extending our partnership with HES-SO, EPFL, and OIKEN is a testament to our shared vision of a more sustainable future. Collectively, we are driving innovation, reducing Novelis’ carbon footprint, and making meaningful progress toward carbon neutrality while also supporting our communities".

    Serge Gaudin, Director Automotive Operations Novelis Europe and Plant Manager Sierre

    With the extension of the agreement, Novelis aims to continue its holistic approach to decarbonization, exemplified by its Vision 3x30, a transformative strategy aimed at achieving 75% recycled content across the company’s product range, less than 3 tons of CO2 emissions per ton of flat-rolled aluminium shipped, and advancing circularity through first-mover investments by the end of 2030.

    Graphic visualization of Net Zero Lab Valais projects

    About HES-SO

    With over 21,000 students, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland is Switzerland’s largest university of applied sciences. Like the eight other public universities of applied sciences, the HES-SO has become a key partner in Swiss education and research over the past 20 years.

    About EPFL

    The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne is one of Europe’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan science and technology institutions.

    About OIKEN

    With more than 790 million kWh of electricity distributed annually, OIKEN is the largest electricity distributor in the Valais region.

    Aluminium International Today featured an exclusive byline by Suzanne Lindsay-Walker, Vice President of Sustainability at Novelis, highlighting the company’s strategic investments in recycling and rolling capacity to drive a more sustainable future. 

    In her article, “Investing in a Sustainable Future: Novelis Increases Capacity and Looks to Maximize Recycled Content.” Suzanne outlines Novelis’ latest efforts to expand its recycling capabilities and increase the percentage of recycled content in its products, reinforcing the company’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. 

    With major projects in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, Novelis is strengthening its position as a leader in low-carbon aluminum solutions. The article highlights key advancements, including: 

    Read the full article in Aluminum International Today’s March/April issue. Aluminium International Today

    Suzanne Lindsay-Walker, Vice President of Sustainability at Novelis, recently joined The Green Room, a podcast by edie, to discuss the evolving role of sustainability in business strategy.  

    In the podcast, Suzanne discusses how the company is bringing Novelis 3×30—our company’s vision to advance aluminum as the material of choice with circular solutions—into action. She highlights the critical role of aluminum in a low-carbon future and how Novelis is making first-mover investments in new technologies to drive sustainability and business growth. 

    Listen to the full episode to hear Suzanne’s perspective on the future of sustainability, what motivates her work, and how Novelis is leading the way toward a low-carbon, circular economy for aluminum. 

    In edie’s Green Room with Novelis’s VP of sustainability, Suzanne Lindsay-Walker – YouTube 

    Hosted by edie editor Matt Mace, The Green Room features leading voices in corporate sustainability, uncovering key lessons, industry trends, and the personal motivations of sustainability leaders. 

    Novelis Inc., a leading producer of flat-rolled aluminium products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminium, proudly announces the production of the world’s first-ever aluminium coil made entirely from 100% recycled, end-of-life automotive scrap. Developed and produced for the European automotive market, this breakthrough marks a significant step toward greater circularity and sustainability in the automotive industry.

    This innovative pilot material is suitable for car body outer skin applications, meeting the highest requirements for surface quality and formability. It reinforces Novelis’ commitment to enabling a sustainable aluminium industry while maintaining the highest standards of quality, strength and performance. This achievement is the result of the company’s ongoing journey to constantly increase the amount of recycled content in its products in collaboration with industry partners and automakers.

    The aluminium scrap for the 100% recycled automotive aluminium coil was sourced through the Automotive Circularity Platform (ACP), which was initiated together with thyssenkrupp Materials Services, one of the world’s leading mill-independent materials distribution and supply chain service providers. As an open platform, ACP aims to streamline access to high-quality end-of-life material for recycling by digitalizing the market for secondary materials, enhancing supply chain efficiency, and maximizing material recovery from vehicles at the end of the consumer-use cycle. 

    Automotive customers are constantly looking for ways to decarbonize their products while keeping them light, safe and affordable, and that’s why they turn to us. Producing aluminium from 100% end-of-life vehicle scrap is not only a testament to our dedication to a circular future for aluminium and enhancing the supply of the critical material. It also is a groundbreaking achievement showcasing the potential for significant environmental benefits and the ability to meet the high-performance demands of modern automotive production.

    Michael Hahne, Vice President and General Manager, Automotive, Novelis Europe


    Novelis is now working to expand the adoption of this technology, enabling automakers to incorporate higher recycled content into future vehicle designs. By increasing industry participation and enhancing the supply chain for end-of-life aluminium scrap, Novelis aims to accelerate the transition to a more circular automotive sector. As a leading sustainable aluminium solutions provider, Novelis already supplies carmakers with products made of up to 85% recycled content, made possible through constant collaboration with customers, closed loop recycling systems for post-production scrap, and the growing collaboration with major suppliers of recyclable materials. We believe expanding the use of end-of-life scrap in aluminium production will further enable the automotive sector to reduce its reliance on virgin materials.

    World's first-ever aluminium coil made entirely from 100% recycled, end-of-life automotive scrap

    Recycling aluminium is the most efficient way to reduce its carbon footprint, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions by approximately 95% in comparison with primary aluminium production. The introduction of 100% end-of-life recycled aluminium into automotive production has the potential to dramatically lower the industry’s environmental footprint while advancing a more circular economy.

    By continuously innovating and investing in expanding recycling capacity, collaborating with industry leaders, we believe Novelis is paving the way for a more sustainable and resource-efficient future in automotive manufacturing. Through these efforts, Novelis seeks to strengthen its position as a preferred partner for automakers seeking high-performance, low-carbon aluminium solutions.

    Written by:  Jamie Zinser, Vice President, Automotive, Novelis North America

    To meet growing demands for green mobility, three elite suppliers have come together to advance sustainable, high-performance solutions for the automobile industry’s electric vehicle (EV) sector.

    Novelis, Shape Corp., and Metalsa are now collaborating, testing, learning and advancing aluminum roll form-intensive EV battery tray concepts.   

    The partnership between Novelis, Shape Corp., and Metalsa aims to improve EV battery enclosures in design, quality, weight, and go-to-market speed. The collaboration combines expertise in advanced roll forming, next-generation alloy development, and precision assembly, providing Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) with specialized knowledge in these areas. 

    • Novelis is the global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, specializing in the production of high-recycled flat-rolled aluminum products;   
    • Shape Corp. is a prominent manufacturer of advanced, lightweight metal components, primarily for automobiles;  
    • Metalsa is a global leader in product and process design, development and manufacturing of structural components for the Automotive and Commercial Vehicles mobility industries.   

    The partnership will utilize Novelis’ high-recycled content alloys to reduce weight and increase product strength, contributing to a more sustainable final product. Novelis recently announced its 3×30 goals with commitments to decarbonize operations, increase recycled content in all products, and invest in a circular economy.  

    With the leadership of Shape Corp. and Metalsa, EV battery enclosure technology will now utilize multi-cellular structures to optimize energy absorption, incorporate flexible part design to enable tooling reuse over multiple platforms, apply precision assembly methods to ensure quality and minimize variances, and employ new bending strategies to enhance part formability and structural integrity.  

     Through Shape Corp.’s best-in-class material utilization and closed-section profiles, the codeveloped EV battery enclosure can realize lower mass and increase structural efficiency.  

    Metalsa’s rigorous testing processes, including front- and side-impact resistance, leak detection, and structural integrity assessments, guarantee the enclosures will meet stringent safety and performance standards.  

    With an eye on the future, adaptability and diversification, together, Novelis, Shape Corp. and Metalsa have a proven track record of rapidly advancing prototype technologies, which will shorten product realization cycles and promote faster in-market timing.  

    Read more from our partners at Shape Corp.

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    Engineering plays a vital role in driving innovation at Novelis and across the aluminum industry. On World Engineering Day, we celebrate both current and future engineers and their work to create a sustainable future. Novelis is proud of its work to help encourage the next generation of engineers to learn the skills needed for their future careers.  

    As industries push for lower-carbon solutions, new alloys, process optimizations, and recycling, innovations are essential to meeting sustainability and technological advancement goals. These breakthroughs require a solid foundation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). That’s why Novelis invests in STEM education across the globe—to provide young talent with the tools, mentorship and resources to develop their skills and make a lasting, sustainable impact on our world.

    Global STEM initiatives at Novelis:

    Globally: Novelis has partnered with FIRST Robotics, an organization that has positively impacted 850,000 youth worldwide. The partnership helps provide hands-on STEM learning, mentorship from Novelis engineers and even incorporated donated aluminum into 28,000+ robot drive bases for the FIRST Robotics Kit of Parts.

    Our Impact

    By engaging students early on in their STEM education journey, Novelis fosters technical skills, problem solving, creativity and leadership—important traits for the engineers of tomorrow. This World Engineering Day, Novelis celebrates the bright minds impacting the future of technology and innovation.

    Novelis, in collaboration with Sourced Economics, published a working paper via the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) on lightweighting vehicles with aluminum. Novelis’ Mario Greco, Global Technology Director, Automotive, and Kashif Solaija, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Commercial Excellence, Global Automotive, teamed up with Sourced Economics CEO John Frechette, and Head of Research Yifei Xu, to rigorously investigate and ultimately contribute to key academic and scientific literature on the economics of vehicle lightweighting. 

    The working paper describes the characteristics of prevailing life cycle assessments (LCAs), which mainly forecast select life cycle costs associated with a change in a vehicle’s materials or design, and reviews notable examples. The goal of the paper is to introduce a richer framework for analyzing these decisions that emphasizes quantifying not only cost-based but also value-based considerations, such as improvements in vehicle performance. 

    In its conclusion, the paper calls for a paradigm shift in automotive product planning focused on better analyzing and improving customer experiences – enabled by new and rapidly emerging data on customer preferences and demand. 

    Read the full paper here: Link 

    Please reach out to Kashif Solaija with any questions.