EGA to Expand German Aluminium Recycling Capacity More Than Six-Fold

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced a major expansion of EGA Leichtmetall in Germany, significantly strengthening its global aluminium recycling footprint and supporting Europe’s growing demand for sustainable materials.

The new facility, to be developed near Hannover, will increase EGA Leichtmetall’s recycling capacity by more than six times. The project will add 110,000 tonnes per year of scrap sorting capacity and 153,000 tonnes per year of melting and casting capacity, positioning the site as one of the most advanced aluminium recycling operations in Europe.

The expansion represents an investment of approximately USD 170 million, with first hot metal expected to be produced in 2028. EGA Leichtmetall’s existing Hannover operation currently has melting and casting capacity of around 30,000 tonnes per year, highlighting the scale of the planned increase.

Advanced, integrated recycling technologies

The planned facility will be among the first globally to integrate a state-of-the-art scrap sorting system, advanced furnace technologies, and an integrated salt recovery process within a single site. This combination is designed to significantly improve efficiency, material recovery and environmental performance across the recycling process.

EGA continues to expand its recycling capabilities across key markets. In the United States, the company operates EGA Spectro Alloys in Minnesota, where the first phase of an expansion featuring similar advanced sorting technologies has recently been completed. A second phase is currently underway and is expected to increase the plant’s total capacity to 200,000 tonnes per year in 2027. In the UAE, EGA’s construction of the country’s largest aluminium recycling plant is nearing completion.

Supporting Europe’s demand for low-carbon aluminium

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “It is technically very challenging to consistently produce high quality aluminium from post-consumer scrap, but this is what European industries such as automotive and aviation are increasingly demanding to meet consumer expectations for product performance and sustainability. Our new EGA Leichtmetall aluminium recycling plant will be one of the most advanced in the world. It will enable post-consumer scrap to be considered more often for the most demanding applications, and it will grow EGA’s role as a partner for a green Europe. We will apply our experience from expanding our Minnesota recycling plant to this new project in Germany.”

Europe is currently the third-largest recycled aluminium market globally, after the United States and China. Recycled aluminium meets approximately 40 percent of Europe’s total aluminium demand, with annual consumption of around 4.9 million tonnes. According to CRU, demand is expected to rise to 7.2 million tonnes per year by 2033, underlining the strategic importance of advanced recycling capacity in the region.

Strategic role in European supply chains

In addition to recycled aluminium, EGA is a major supplier of primary aluminium to Europe, shipping more than 600,000 tonnes annually. The European automotive sector is the largest consumer of EGA’s CelestiAL solar aluminium, reflecting the growing emphasis on low-carbon materials across manufacturing industries.

The new EGA Leichtmetall facility will feature advanced sorting systems using X-ray and laser technologies to separate scrap by alloy, grade and impurity level. This will increase flexibility in scrap inputs and allow EGA Leichtmetall to apply its decades of blending expertise to produce high-quality aluminium from post-consumer scrap for demanding applications for the first time.

Energy efficiency and circularity

The facility will deploy energy-efficient melting furnaces, designed to be capable of conversion to hydrogen use in the future, further reducing its environmental footprint. Its casting line will produce secondary ingots across nearly all wrought alloys, as well as low- and high-iron-content foundry alloys.

Salt is commonly used in aluminium recycling to bind impurities during melting, generating salt slag as waste. At the new EGA Leichtmetall plant, salt will be almost entirely recovered for reuse, significantly reducing waste. The only solid waste expected will be aluminium hydroxide, which can be used in cement production, along with non-aluminium scrap fractions.

The expansion underscores EGA’s long-term strategy to build a globally integrated recycling network, supporting the transition to a circular aluminium economy while meeting the rising sustainability expectations of European industries.