News & Insights

Stena Recycling and Hydro collaborates to produce low carbon aluminium from post-consumer scrap

In close collaboration with Hydro, thousands of tonnes of post consumer aluminium is recycled every year in Høyanger, Norway, where it is remelted into low carbon aluminium.

Aluminium can be recycled again and again without losing its properties. But delivering high-quality recycled material at scale requires more than recycling alone – it requires an entire value chain working together.

Through a Nordic network of more than 170 collection yards, six shredders and advanced industrial processing at the Stena Nordic Recycling Center (SNRC) in Halmstad, large volumes of post-consumer scrap are collected, fragmented and refined. Stena Reyclings network and processing capabilities creates the scale and quality to support the rising demand for aluminium with a high post consumer content.

From end-of-life to new applications

The process begins with end-of-life vehicles and other complex material streams containing valuable aluminium. Stena Recycling collects, fragments and refines these materials across the Nordics, before the recovered aluminium is further processed and prepared at SNRC. It is then remelted and transformed into new aluminium at Hydro’s Høyanger plant, ready to be used in new applications.

This end-to-end collaboration connects collection, processing and aluminium production, making circular material flows possible at scale. By bringing together local expertise, industrial capabilities and partners across the value chain, valuable materials can remain in use for longer.

“Our collaboration with Hydro is a perfect example of how we can work together across the value chain to produce low carbon aluminium at scale from post-consumer scrap recovered from end of life products.”

- Andreas Karlsson,
Senior Area Manager Non Ferrous, Stena Metal International

The aluminium loop

1. End-of-life materials

Valuable aluminium is recovered from end-of-life vehicles and other complex material streams.

2. Collection & refinement

Materials are collected, fragmented and refined across the Nordics to recover valuable aluminium.

3. Industrial preparation

The recovered material is further processed and prepared for industrial aluminium production.

4. Remelting

The aluminium is remelted at Hydro Høyanger and transformed into new aluminium material.

5. New applications

The recycled aluminium is ready to be used in new applications — keeping valuable material in circulation.

"Every piece of aluminium scrap is a 
valuable resource. Together, Hydro and Stena Recycling are keeping aluminium in circulation, transforming scrap into low-carbon products and accelerating the transition to a more circular economy" 

- Henning Wiik Tangen 
Scrap Purchaser Nordics, Hydro