Novelis' Successful Test of Hydrogen for Aluminium Recycling

Novelis, a leader in aluminium production and recycling, has tested a change with huge decarbonisation potential at its Latchford facility in Warrington, UK.

This effort involves the implementation of hydrogen fuel to power a recycling furnace.

The tests, conducted as part of a UK government decarbonisation programme, demonstrated the potential for hydrogen to revolutionise the aluminium recycling process.

This switch from natural gas to hydrogen in the melting process is not just a technical alteration, but holds potential decreases in CO₂e emissions by up to 90%.

“Exploring renewable energy sources such as hydrogen, making first mover investments and reducing energy intensity are part of our 3x30 vision to advance aluminium as the material of choice with circular solutions,” says Emilio Braghi, Executive Vice President at Novelis Inc. and President at Novelis Europe.

“With the significant expansion of our local recycling capacity, we are transforming the Latchford site into a prototype for high-recycled content and decarbonised aluminium production.”

Novelis' hydrogen initiative

Novelis' hydrogen test is a collaborative venture with Progressive Energy, supported by a UK governmental decarbonisation programme.

The test necessitated intricate technical enhancements including the introduction of modern burners, advanced regenerators and upgraded furnace linings.

Throughout this testing phase, various blends of hydrogen and natural gas, ranging from 30% to 100%, were tested to evaluate their effects on the already existing infrastructure and compatibility with older equipment.

During the trial, several hundred tonnes of 3000 series scrap aluminium alloy were successfully remelted and cast into sheet ingots. 

This process was meticulously monitored, estimating impacts on not only the final aluminium products but also on operational, environmental and process-related parameters.

The successful hydrogen trial is transforming the Latchford site into a prototype for high-recycled content and decarbonised aluminium production. 

This aligns with Novelis' broader strategy to increase recycled content to 75% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner.

Downstream processing, including rolling and finishing, will be completed at other Novelis plants in Europe to establish the end-to-end parameters of a hydrogen-based recycled alloy production process. 

“The use of hydrogen is not common in the aluminium industry today and we are very proud to be one of the pioneers to have tested this new fuel at an industrial scale and in a real-world environment,” says Allan Sweeney, Plant Manager at Novelis Latchford. 

“The results from Latchford will drive further research into the potential deployment of hydrogen in our recycling operations worldwide.”

The future for Novelis Latchford

In July 2024, Novelis announced a US$90m investment to double the recycling capacity for used beverage cans at its Latchford facility. 

This investment hopes to double its beverage can recycling capacity by 85 kilotonnes per year. 

It will also decrease Novelis Europe’s CO₂e by more than 350,000 tonnes annually. 

Novelis expects the project to begin commissioning in December 2026. 

The UK government's support for decarbonisation

This hydrogen pilot project is part of the government’s Industrial Fuel Switching Competition programme supported by a £4.6m (US$5.8m) grant as part of the £1bn (US$1.26bn) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.

It is also part of the regional HyNet project that aims to unlock a low carbon future in the north west of the UK. 

HyNet will reduce the amount of CO₂ emitted by the region by a quarter starting in the 2020s through carbon capture and storage and the use of locally produced low carbon hydrogen power. 

Novelis joined the HyNet project as a partner in 2017 and is supporting the development of its regional infrastructure project. 

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