Wicona unveils the world's first facade project made of Hydro CIRCAL 100R recycled aluminum

The Hydro CIRCAL 100R is currently reserved for special projects that wish to tell a story in terms of recyclability and circularity. First German illustration with the high-tech office facade of the "Innovationsbogen" building, designed by Hadi Teherani.

"Innovationsbogen Augsburg", the first project in the world with a facade made of 1% post-consumer aluminum

The Innovationsbogen Augsburg is the gateway to the Augsburg City Innovation Park, one of Europe's largest innovation parks, located northwest of Munich, Germany. The building, with a total area of ​​14.800 m², erected on six floors, impresses not only with its durability, but also with its unique arch-shaped architecture reminiscent of a sunrise. Designed by the architectural firm Hadi Teherani as a “green lung” in an urban environment, the innovative building aims to link science and research as well as architecture to the environment. One of the important guiding principles in the planning of this office building is indeed sustainability. The goal is to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

In this context, particular attention was paid to the choice of construction systems: revegetation of the curved roof, recovery of rainwater, solar collectors on the roof, ingenious heating and ventilation systems, etc. The facade designed by WICONA especially for this building, based on the WICTEC EL evo element facade system, contributes significantly to its sustainability. In addition to its high technical performance, it is the first facade system in the world made of low carbon recycled aluminum Hydro CIRCAL 100R, whose original model will be unveiled at the BAU show in Munich, from April 17 to 22, 2023 on the WICONA stand. With a carbon footprint of 0,5 kg CO₂ per kilogram of aluminum, this new alloy contributes to the decarbonization of the building. Indeed, the 85 tonnes of Hydro CIRCAL 100R aluminum used for this project represents a reduction of 527 tonnes of CO₂.

Hydro CIRCAL 100R, the very low carbon benchmark

This new formulation, made from 100% recycled aluminum at the end of its life, has the lowest carbon footprint in the world, of 0,5 kg of CO2 per kilogram of aluminum produced, whereas the European average is 6,7 kg of CO₂/kg of aluminium.

“The Hydro CIRCAL 100R is a direct continuation of the 75R. It results from the same environmental logic, the objective being indeed to go even further in terms of reducing our carbon footprint and preserving natural resources” summarizes Lucile Souyri, Sustainable Development Manager of Hydro Building Systems.

75/95 building for tomorrow

From 2018, WICONA made the decision to switch all its ranges of CIRCAL 75R aluminum profiles. This alloy, made up of at least 75% post-consumer waste – which in fact contains on average 82% post-consumer recycled aluminum – is a first step forward. But other components, insulating bars, TPE seals, hardware go into the manufacture of a facade or joinery. To meet its commitment to reduce its CO2018 emissions by half, compared to 2, by 2025, WICONA must go even further in the recycling objective. The brand is working on the design of the products of tomorrow, so that the other materials, such as stainless steel or polyamide for example, which are used in the manufacture of its references are 95% recyclable.

“We will therefore no longer market, in the future, products containing components which we will not know what to do with when our joinery or facades reach the end of their life. This philosophy translates, in addition to the aluminum part that we master today and which constitutes the core business of the Hydro group, into the development of other types of materials, in collaboration with our suppliers, as well as the establishment of ad hoc sorting. » Vincent Bes, Sales Director WICONA France

Towards 100% circularity

Sustainable development and environmental issues remain at the heart of WICONA's major concerns with a perfectly clear vision for the coming years. Rethinking solutions through the prism of circularity, finding more virtuous alternatives to current materials, improving manufacturing processes, changing the working habits of employees and with partners…. This desire to integrate and generate a circular production economy has resulted in the marketing, for four years, of the low-carbon aluminum Hydro CIRCAL 75R, which has a carbon footprint of 2,3 kg of CO₂/kg of aluminum produced (i.e. three times less than the European average).

The next steps concern the advent of the 75/95 concept, i.e. the marketing of products that are 95% recyclable and made of 75% recycled materials, and the arrival of the Hydro CIRCAL 100R, made of 100% end-of-life aluminum, which will push the limits of the company's carbon footprint even further and contribute to the decarbonization of the building sector.

The next step will focus on setting up a circularity at 100%, in other words the capacity of offer its partners, contracting authorities and prime contractors, a virtuous cycle, from site to site, with the underlying economic model. That is to say, to be able, on renovation projects, to ensure the complete circuit: removal and recovery of old aluminum joinery, sending to the group's recycling plants and supply of new products based on aluminum. recycled aluminum.

“A line of development that goes in the direction of history. The concept of an urban mine, which appeared a few years ago, has now become a reality. Because renovation projects, under the costs of land pressure, will most certainly intensify by affecting buildings that were mainly built between the 70s and 80s. A time when aluminum really began to take off in the sector. construction. We now have the industrial tools and WICONA intends to establish itself as the pioneer of the circularity of aluminum joinery. » Alexandre Biste, WICONA Strategic Unit Director