Russian Federation aluminium giant UC Rusal announced this week that it has begun using end-of-life scrap aluminium for the production of foundry alloys for use in the automotive industry.
Per the firm, Primary Equivalent Foundry Alloys (PEFA) consist of one-fifth aluminium scrap that is added into molten aluminium during production. Use of scrap aluminium is expected to reduce Rusal’s overall carbon emissions by almost 20 percent.
Rusal says it hopes to expand production of PEFA towards the latter half of the year as well as increasing the percentage of scrap aluminium used to 30 percent. PEFA meets the requirements set out by automotive manufacturers as well as offering a product with a low carbon footprint and significant recycled content.
Roman Andryushin, Deputy CEO, Director of Sales and Marketing of Rusal, said in a press release that its new low-carbon aluminium offering is made in response to industry demand.
“Our clients continue to emphasize the importance of the circular economy in improving sustainability in manufacturing. Production of new low-carbon alloys is our direct response to clear demand from automotive customers for recycled content in aluminium products. We believe that RUSAL’s new product with recycled content coupled with our industry leading low-carbon aluminium ALLOW will help our customers embed sustainable procurement into their supply chains.”
Rusal says PEFA is part of a wider push began in December to reduce its greenhouse gas production by at least one quarter by 2032 and by almost half by mid-century. The firm produces over 3 million metric tons of low-carbon aluminium under its ALLOW brand each year and operates several research and development centers dedicated to producing new aluminium alloys for a wide variety of applications.