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Novelis has been awarded £4.6 million to establish hydrogen burning trials as part of the UK Government’s £55m Industrial Fuel Switching Competition, as part of the £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), and the wider regional HyNet project.

Novelis joined HyNet in 2017 and has been supporting the development of the regional infrastructure project as well as conducting its own technical feasibility studies on the use of hydrogen as a direct replacement for natural gas.

“Switching to renewable energy sources is a key initiative to advance on our journey toward carbon-neutral production. “Besides decarbonizing our own facility, this collaboration drives the industrial decarbonization of the whole North-West region in UK.”

“We are proud to be one of the pioneers using hydrogen within the aluminium industry and that these trials at Latchford will additionally advance research on the viability of integrating hydrogen power in our recycling operations around the world,”

With the recently awarded grant by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, Novelis’ Latchford plant will test the use of hydrogen on one of its recycling furnaces in a demonstration phase in 2024.

The trial has been up in collaboration with Progressive Energy, an independent UK energy company, and 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.

“Decarbonizing our melting processes is a critical lever to achieving our sustainability goals of reducing our carbon footprint by 30% by 2026 and being carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner,”

In addition to its contribution to HyNet, Novelis’ research and development teams worldwide are also investigating the ability to use plasma, electricity, and biomass to power its manufacturing operations.

About Novelis Latchford 

Novelis Latchford in Warrington, UK, is one of Europe’s largest aluminium used beverage cans recycling plants, and Europe’s largest closed-loop recycling operation for automotive aluminium rolled products with an annual recycling capacity of up to 195,000 tonnes. The plant is an essential part of Novelis’ European production, which has enough capacity to recycle every aluminium beverage can sold in the UK, and collaborated with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to create the first closed-loop system in Europe with a dedicated railway service to efficiently deliver aluminium between Novelis and JLR’s production site in the UK. Due to the high level of economic integration and the geographical proximity between the EU, UK, and Switzerland, Novelis operates across borders in well-established and efficient supply chains. This interconnectedness creates important economies of scale that benefit the value chains across Europe and enables Novelis to maximize the use of recycled inputs in line with our ambition to provide low-carbon, sustainable aluminium solutions to our customers.

ZURICH, June 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Novelis Inc., a leading sustainable aluminium solutions provider and the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, has announced the construction of its first solar park at the company’s production site in Pieve Emanuele, Italy. Local authorities granted their final approval for building the more than 28,000 square meters large solar park, which is scheduled to start generating electricity by end of this year.

Read the full report here.

Novelis issued its second Green Bond report, which highlights the company’s sustainability focused investments funded by a Green Bond.

As it leads the way in decarbonizing the aluminum industry, Novelis shares news of its investments and how they enhance the company’s ability to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions and meet its ambitious goals for reductions in carbon emissions, energy use, water use and landfill waste.

“These projects demonstrate that Novelis is successfully carrying out its purpose of ‘Shaping a Sustainable World Together’ by funding investments that significantly lower the carbon emissions of our manufacturing operations and enable us to continue to increase the recycled content of our products, which are already at industry-leading levels,” said Steve Fisher, Novelis President & Chief Executive Officer. “Innovation is the driving force behind change as Novelis and our customers work together to create a more circular economy for aluminum.”

Read the report here.

One year after launch, fossil energy sources are being replaced with renewable electricity; heat recovering energy ecosystem is underway, and a modelling systemic study ongoing.

Novelis  and its partners at the research and development laboratory Net Zero Lab Valais, successfully completed the first year of operations, launching key energy projects aimed at enabling scope 1 and 2 carbon neutral production at Novelis´ Sierre plant in Switzerland.  

In the first year of the plant’s decarbonization journey with the Net Zero Lab Valais, Novelis has approved an investment in a new electrical pusher furnace, which will allow us to pre-heat sheet ingots with renewable electricity instead of natural gas, saving around 4,500t CO2eq per year and up to 180,000 CO2eq over the furnace’s lifetime. 

In addition, the lab partners completed a project to transfer waste heat from the casting process at our Novelis plant to the Technopôle – a nearby building complex. The energy supply, corresponding to a power of around 200 kilowatt-hours, covers about one-third of the Swiss Digital Center’s total energy demand. Together with OIKEN, a local energy provider and lab partner, Novelis intends to further expand this energy ecosystem with the goal to supply a substantial part of the Sierre region´s energy demand before 2030. 

“This lighthouse project brings to life our holistic decarbonization approach toward a net zero production. Additionally, it makes us very proud to see that beyond this important mission, we are also adding value to our surrounding communities and further expanding our position as a sustainability frontrunner and attractive employer.”

Modelling an optimized system for the plant´s energy sourcing, conversion, and reuse is the goal of an ongoing systemic study that began with the launch of Net Zero Lab Valais in 2022. The focus is to replace fossil-based energy sources with carbon neutral ones rather than offsetting carbon emissions through credits. First models and results will be released in May this year. 

“Three decarbonization projects by the Net Zero Lab Valais were rewarded with funds by the Swiss government, which allowed us to expand the size of the team. It's amazing to see the extraordinary results of this interdisciplinary, talented team and to know that this is just the beginning of our journey.”

The ultimate goal of research and projects coming out of the Net Zero Lab Valais is to find ways Novelis can reach carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 emissions at our Sierre plant by 2030, and then extend them to our other plants around the world. The multitude of decarbonization projects underlines our ambitious sustainability goals. We have set targets to reduce our carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2026, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. Beyond our focus on energy efficiency initiatives and recycling, Novelis will continue to seek opportunities to decarbonize its operations by converting to renewable energy sources. 


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Novelis is taking substantial steps toward advancing sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint. The company has recently announced a remarkable investment of over 1 million USD in Brazil, involving two key initiatives.  

The primary investment centers on the installation of nearly 1,000 photovoltaic solar panels at the company’s 14 used beverage can collection centers across Brazil. These panels are set to generate an impressive 603.8 MWh of clean energy annually. By embracing solar energy, Novelis aims to make these collection centers self-sufficient for their power needs while simultaneously reducing their carbon footprint. It is estimated that this shift will lead to a remarkable reduction of 231.1 tons of CO2 emissions per year. This reduction is equivalent to the carbon capture potential of 31,229 trees in the Amazon rainforest over a year. 

Moreover, this environmentally conscious effort aligns with Novelis’ global sustainability targets, which include a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2026 and a commitment to being carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner.  

In addition to solar energy adoption, Novelis is furthering its commitment to sustainability by replacing gas-powered forklifts in the collection centers with electric ones. The company is investing in the acquisition of 16 new electric forklifts, reducing emissions even further. 

This endeavor in Brazil is just one facet of Novelis’ broader efforts to promote sustainability and reduce its carbon footprint across the globe. The company is consistently exploring clean energy solutions for its facilities worldwide, underscoring its commitment to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future. 

As the world’s largest recycler of aluminum, Novelis plays a key part in enabling the transition to a more circular and more sustainable future. We are proud to issue our 2022 Global Sustainability Report, which reviews metrics and success stories from our 2022 fiscal year (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022).

The report highlights Novelis’ efforts toward its sustainability goals, which encompass the environment, diversity and inclusion, safety and our support of the communities we serve.

Read the full 2022 Global Sustainability Report here:

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Novelis and the VELUX Group have entered into a partnership agreement focused on collaboration for increased product sustainability and carbon reduction. Novelis will provide high-recycled content, flat-rolled aluminum for use in VELUX roof windows.

The multi-year partnership agreement between Novelis and VELUX has a goal to reach below 4.0 kg carbon emitted per kilogram of the supplied rolled aluminium by the end of 2024, which is well below half the average carbon footprint of primary aluminium used in Europe. The partners are aiming for further carbon reductions by 2030.  

To achieve this, the companies are collaborating closely to evolve the design of the products so that they can absorb higher recycled content inputs. Recycling aluminium is at the core of Novelis’ sustainability strategy because recycling requires only 5% of the energy and produces up to 95 percent fewer carbon emissions than manufacturing primary aluminium.  

The partnership is a novel approach to how Novelis and VELUX work together. Novelis is more than an aluminium supplier and VELUX more than just a buyer of aluminium. We are working hand in hand to develop new alloys and coating systems that will meet VELUX’s advanced technical and performance requirements, while reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption. VELUX and Novelis will also partner to influence the building and construction industry to improve end of life recycling and circularity of all products used in this segment. 

“We are excited that we can help VELUX achieve its ambitious carbon emission reduction goals by supplying low-carbon, sustainable aluminium solutions. As a leader in aluminium sustainability, Novelis recognizes that material innovation and collaboration across the value chain will enable decarbonization, support a circular economy and help us achieve our carbon neutrality goal.”

Stephen Boney, Vice President, Specialty Products, Novelis Europe

Read more about the partnership agreement and the joint approach for carbon reduction in the published press release: VELUX Group takes next step to decarbonise aluminium in roof windows together with Novelis 

Stephen Boney, Novelis & Nikolaj Cederquist, VELUX shake hands

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Smart Press Shop is a joint venture between Porsche AG and Schuler Group

Novelis started a closed- loop-recycling program with Smart Press Shop (SPS) located in Halle (Saale), Germany. As part of the operations, Novelis supplies aluminium flat rolled products from its Nachterstedt, Germany plant to Smart Press Shop and brings production scrap generated during their manufacturing process back to Nachterstedt. Novelis then recycles the scrap and converts it into new, high-quality rolled sheet, which is then again returned to SPS and re-enters its production loop, where it is made into sustainable lightweight automotive body parts. 

Recycling aluminum requires 95% less energy to produce than primary aluminium, with commensurate savings in CO2 emissions. As such, this partnership is projected to reduce SPS’ carbon emissions by up to 100,000 tons per year.

 “SPS and Novelis are ideal partners to advance the automotive industry closer to achieving the standards of a circular economy through sustainable material sourcing and production,” said Michael Hahne, Vice President, Automotive, Novelis Europe. “Novelis has a remarkable story to share about closed-loop-recycling programs with clients around the world. From our objective of achieving zero waste-to-landfills to becoming carbon neutral, we take our responsibility as a global sustainability leader very seriously and look forward to all that we can achieve with SPS.”

Read the full press release here: Novelis and Smart Press Shop Create Closed-Loop-Recycling System

ATLANTA, May 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Novelis Inc., the leading sustainable aluminum solutions provider and world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced it has joined the First Movers Coalition (FMC), a global initiative aimed at decarbonizing eight “hard to abate” sectors. Through the partnership, Novelis will take a prominent role among a global network of forward-thinking companies committed to jumpstarting demand for clean energy technologies aimed at dramatically reducing carbon emissions from the aluminum manufacturing process.

Read the full report here.

The 18th of May Emilio Braghi, Executive Vice President, Novelis and President, Novelis Europe, gave a keynote presentation at 27th World Aluminium Conference. In a phase of energy transition, the pace at which Europe must decarbonize is accelerating. This will create an even more intense pull on renewable energy, especially on electricity.

The production of low carbon primary aluminium is a big step to lower carbon emissions, but still requires the same high amount of energy. Whereas aluminium recycling emits not only the least emissions – it’s also a very energy efficient process, saving around 95% of the energy used in primary production.

Emilio Braghi calls for an enabling political framework to promote circularity. To increase scrap availability, there is the need to set up systems that incentivize circular products as well as investments in better collection and sorting facilities. All players in the market need to commit and to join efforts in implementing closed-loop recycling systems and in developing high recycled content and uni-alloys. To advance on this joint roadmap, technology and innovation are key. Most important fields are material innovation, new scrap segregation technologies and improvements in creating low carbon and low energy production processes.