Technal and Wicona, 1st line manufacturers to manufacture 100% recycled aluminum profiles “Hydro CIRCAL 100R”

This material, produced from 100% post-consumer aluminium, makes it possible to offer profiles with a carbon footprint close to zero (0,5 kg of CO2e/kg of aluminum on average), i.e. the lowest in the world.

Two TECHNAL and WICONA projects integrating this new alloy are in progress. Through this first step, the ambition of the two brands is to pave the way to considerably increase the share of secondary aluminum in the construction sector and to actively participate in the decarbonization of the buildings of tomorrow.

A world first made possible thanks to the support of the Hydro group

To carry out this world first, the TECHNAL and WICONA teams worked hand in hand with their parent company.

The Norwegian aluminum group Hydro is the only producer to control each stage of the material's life cycle – production of bauxite and alumina, production by electrolysis, reintegration of scrap and waste into the production process – and to be equipped from its own recycling process.

The production of Hydro CIRCAL 100R aluminium, composed exclusively of old windows or facades recovered from deconstruction sites, is currently carried out in the Hydro foundry in Clervaux, Luxembourg. A site also dedicated to the manufacture of Hydro CIRCAL 75R low carbon billets.

To optimize the process for identifying the alloys received that go into the composition of this 100% recycled aluminium, the foundry has benefited from new investments in machinery and technology. A key step in the production process of this secondary aluminum, specific to the use of buildings, which eliminates any addition of primary aluminum.

Two projects already in progress

The TECHNAL and WICONA production sites have started the delivery of their first respective projects: in France for TECHNAL and in Germany for WICONA. For these two achievements, 130 tons of Hydro CIRCAL 100R aluminum profiles were manufactured. They will display a carbon footprint of 65 tonnes, a reduction of 800 tonnes compared to the carbon footprint of standard aluminum produced in Europe.