World's largest aluminium recycling centre opens in Germany

Novelis, the  aluminum rolling and recycling giant, has opened the world's largest aluminium recycling centre. Located adjacent to the company's rolling mill in Nachterstedt, Germany, the $258m (€200m) recycling center will process up to 400,000 metric tons of aluminum scrap annually, turning it back into high-value aluminum ingots to feed the company's European manufacturing network.

"The Nachterstedt Recycling Center is a significant step toward our goal to be the world's low-carbon aluminium sheet producer, shifting our business model from a traditional linear approach to an increasingly closed-loop model," said Phil Martens, President and Chief Executive Officer of Novelis. "This new facility further strengthens Novelis' leadership in Europe, and together with our major recycling operations in Asia, North America and South America, solidifies Novelis' position as the global aluminium recycling leader."

Since 2011, Novelis has invested approximately $500m to expand its recycling network, doubling its recycling capacity to 2.1m metric tons per year and raising its recycled content from 30% to 46%. The company's goal is to achieve 80% recycled content by 2020.

The company maintains that recycling aluminium saves 95% of the energy and emissions associated with the production of primary metal.