Norsk Hydro

Well positioned in declining markets, low-carbon aluminium gaining ground - Seite 3

Hydro’s customers are recognizing Hydro’s industry leadership in greener aluminium, and on June 19, Hydro received the Mercedes-Benz sustainability award after delivering the first batch of Hydro REDUXA 3.0 earlier this year. It passed testing at Mercedes-Benz and will be introduced in large scale production this year, starting with the EQS and EQE series of electric cars.

“Our customers increasingly care about more than the price and quality of aluminium products, including where and how it is produced. All parts of our sustainability agenda, from our net-zero ambition to our social developments in Brazil and around the world, are key criteria for our most advanced customers. They ask for transparency and traceability throughout the aluminium value chain, and I am happy that a major customer like Mercedes-Benz acknowledges our efforts with granting us their sustainability award,” says Aasheim.

During the second quarter of 2023, the world’s first batch of recycled aluminium using green hydrogen as an energy source was successfully produced at Hydro’s extrusion plant in Navarra, Spain. This is an important step in verifying green hydrogen as an emission free fuel to address the hard to abate industry emissions.

The transition to a lower-carbon society is dependent on policy initiatives like the European Green Deal. There are several initiatives on both climate, energy, sustainability and taxonomy that are important for the development of a greener economy. The political direction is aligned with Hydro’s growth strategy across the value chain. ​One important aspect of the Green Deal is circularity and what it means for recycling of aluminium.​ According to a secondary technical legislation under adoption, the Carbon Boarder Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will label aluminium based on remelted industrial scrap as “carbon free,” with zero-carbon cost on import. This allows for greenwashing of carbon intensive products and undermines the competitiveness of European producers subject to ETS, the EU market for low-carbon products and Green Deal objectives. This needs to be addressed and updated before the CBAM is finally introduced to ensure the CBAM does not cause the problem it seeks to address, but rather solves it.