Speira has announced it will inject €40m to fund additional aluminium recycling capacity and transform its Rheinwerk plant.
The significant investment is expected to drive a total saving of up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year at the site, a significant milestone in establishing a circular economy for aluminium.
Boris Kurth, Head of the can business at Speira and the recycling and foundry operations at Rheinwerk, explained: “We want to become the number 1 in aluminium recycling in Europe.
“Over the past 20 years, we have already built furnaces with leading recycling capacity in Europe and Europe’s most modern sorting plant for UBC scrap, substituting the highly energy-intensive primary production of aluminium.
“We are consistently pursuing this path and emphasising our commitment to the circular economy with the fourth recycling furnace at Rheinwerk.”
Adding a fourth aluminium recycling furnace at Rheinwerk
The furnace is set for construction in 2025, with production beginning in early 2026.
Speira is also upgrading the third of four existing casting centres to optimise recycling alloys, helping Rheinwerk further reduce its ecological footprint.
Once complete, Rheinwerk’s enhanced recycling capacity will save up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 compared to producing the same amount of aluminium from primary sources.
The new furnace and the remodelling of the casting plant are step one of the company’s expansion plans.
“With its strategic location in the heart of Europe, we are expanding Rheinwerk into a leading recycling hub for our industry, which is our long-term goal for our complete transformation,” said Kurth.
New scrap warehouse
One-third of the phased-out smelter will house a new scrap warehouse, providing storage and facilities for sampling incoming scrap and preparing it for melting.
Kurth explained: “The long halls allow us to think and plan big. This huge new scrap warehouse creates space for the ‘feed’ for all of our recycling furnaces – not just the new one.
“We need the sampling of those types of scrap that have already completed one or more life cycles. These ‘post-consumer scraps’ are a source that we want to utilise even more.”
Additionally, the storage areas for skimmings are being expanded in the foundry.
Focus on beverage cans
The new recycling furnace will melt aluminium alloys for beverage cans, showcasing Speira’s sustainability ambitions.
Beverage cans have a fast life cycle, taking about 60 days from production to filling, retail sale, consumption, disposal, and recycling.
This rapid cycle means the same aluminium can be recycled multiple times a year, maximising the ecological benefits of advanced technology.
Speira is also dedicated to improving the recyclability of beverage cans. Coordinated by European Aluminium, the company researches recycling-friendly alloys and promotes return deposit schemes for this valuable light metal.
