Novelis to use advanced scrap sorting technologies

Aluminium rolling and recycling flagship Novelis has announced a partnership with scrap metal sorting and recycling start-up Sortera Alloys.

Novelis will take advantage of Sortera’s advanced sorting technologies, including data analytics and advanced sensors, to recycle and re-use higher amounts of automotive post-production and post-consumer scrap.

Today, when different aluminium alloys are mixed, either after the automakers’ stamping process or when a vehicle is disposed of at the end of its lifecycle, they cannot be re-separated into the individual alloys. As a result, the higher value alloys are downgraded into lower value uses. With the use of the Sortera technology, Novelis will be able to effectively separate the mixed scrap into individual alloys and recycle them back into the same product, closing the loop. This will allow Novelis to meet original equipment makers’ exacting needs for performance, durability, safety and design.

“Our partnership with Sortera will allow Novelis to continue to increase the amount of recycled content in our automotive alloys and subsequently reduce our carbon footprint,” said Derek Prichett, senior VP, Corporate Development at Novelis. “It also aligns with our goal of becoming a fully circular business, as we will be able to keep more automotive aluminium in our supply chain and re-direct it back into the same products.”

The partnership supports Novelis’ sustainability goals to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 % by 2026 and to be carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner. Using recycled aluminium as input material requires around 5 % of the energy used to make primary aluminium, thus avoiding approximately 95 % of the carbon emissions associated with production.